Very rich Russians must pay income tax of 60%
Next week the Ministry of Finance intends to hold consultations and discuss the upcoming tax reform, where the highlight of the program will most likely be a progressive scale. Its introduction is feared not only by the rich of this world, but also by the average Russian living on one salary. During the tripartite meeting (trade unions, employers and government) they will discuss the possibility of abolishing personal income tax for low-income citizens.
As you know, in the next three years in Russia it is planned to pursue an “effective tax policy” aimed at “eliminating social and economic inequality.” in society. Vladimir Putin set this task for the authorities in his February message to the Federal Assembly
It must be said that if personal income tax is removed from citizens with low incomes (around the subsistence level), they will not become particularly richer. As “MK” said financial analyst Sergei Drozdov, “the money that will remain in the family from a zero income tax will only be enough to pay for electricity.”
This year, the subsistence minimum (LM) for the working population in Russia is 16,840 rubles per month, and the minimum wage, the minimum wage, is 19,240 rubles.
We asked Alexander Safonov, professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, about the prospects for tax reform.
— My approach is simple. We need to consider the family. Let's say there are three children. We subtract three subsistence minimums from the taxable salary base. And if the remaining amount exceeds the monthly salary of each family member, then apply a personal income tax of 13%.
— Up to a salary of 250 thousand rubles per month. Today this is a real salary, many workers and engineers receive it. And, in my opinion, they should not reduce the income they earn.
— From 250 to 500 thousand per month take 14%, from 500 thousand to a million 16, over a million per month 20%, from 10 million — 30%.
— No, the maximum, it seems to me, should be 60%, as in Europe. If a citizen earns several hundred million a year, then, starting from a certain amount, it is quite reasonable to take 60% from him.
— I can’t say for sure. I believe the Ministry of Finance wants to increase personal income tax to 15% on a salary of 85 thousand rubles per month. And from a million rubles and more leave 20%.
— Not sure. It is more profitable for the Ministry of Finance to operate with tax deductions. This is a certain mechanism that a person may not use. And it is provided after the fact. It happens that a citizen incurred expenses for healthcare or education, but did not keep supporting documents or they were incorrectly completed. The money will not be returned to him.
This scheme reduces the opportunity to exercise a citizen’s right to a tax deduction.
— This is a difficult question. We consider the poor to be those who receive incomes below or around the subsistence level. But there is also such a story. A person receives a salary in the amount of the minimum wage, that is, he is not a poor person. But after paying personal income tax, his income is below the subsistence level. Nominally, he does not fall into the category of the poor, but in reality he does.
Therefore, it is necessary to focus on the total income of the family, to consider it as an object of taxation. If each family member has an income below the monthly minimum, then you need to be exempt from paying income.
— The treasury will not suffer. The authorities are one way or another forced to provide material support to the poor. These transactions will simply stop: first take away, and then give away.