Work on the new format of the tax system has entered the final stage
The State Duma today considered and approved in the second reading new proposals of the Government of the Russian Federation to the systemic tax bill. They are based on extensive feedback from business, social activists and experts who were directly involved in the discussion of tax innovations. The improvements affected support for the IT sector, small technology companies, resort fees, simplified taxation system issues, coal and ore extraction tax, as well as rates of excisable goods and state duties. Thus, work on a new format of the tax system for the next five years has entered the final stage.
Photo: duma.gov.ru
Let's figure out what the essence of the amendments proposed by the government is and how much they change the basic scenario of the bill adopted by the State Duma in the first reading.
And let's start with one of the most discussed aspects of tax changes for small businesses, namely — the issues of implementing VAT payments for taxpayers using the simplified tax system (STS). Of course, we still have to adapt to the new conditions for calculating and paying VAT in the STS format, but the government has already adjusted an important position, which in many ways caused the most acute reaction to the basic version of the bill.
We are talking about small businesses using a simplified taxation system with a turnover of less than 60 million rubles per year. The original version implied a mechanism for special notification to the tax authorities that the business does not fall into this criterion and, accordingly, should not act as a VAT payer. Naturally, this approach, namely, – forcing additional interaction with tax authorities in cases that are not at all mandatory in the conditions of information and digital security of tax authorities, – caused confusion among taxpayers.
And so, as part of the amendments to the second reading of the bill, the government proposes to abandon this kind of notifications and set up work on the administration of simplified taxation system payers with a turnover of less than 60 million rubles in automatic mode. Thus, eliminating the problem of interaction with this category of taxpayers and, most importantly, eliminating the potential risks and burden of involving them in the VAT payment system. It is gratifying that the state has listened to business on this issue.
An important component of the amendments was the adjustment of tax preferences towards their expansion for the IT sector and innovation activities. In addition to the tax preferences already fixed in the basic version of the bill, the amendments make it possible to apply an increased coefficient of “2” to expenses for the rights to use Russian computer programs. This creates more attractive conditions for the use of domestic software products due to an actual reduction in the income tax rate.
In addition, the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are given the right to regions in the period 2025–2030 to introduce reduced rates of income tax credited to the regional budget for small technology companies. This occurs along with the lifting of restrictions on the types of R&D for which an increasing coefficient is applied to the costs. Which again sufficiently acts as a tool for tax stimulation of innovative development of small businesses.
And traditionally, the government has come up with a proposal for tax support for the IT sector. Thus, amendments to the bill fix reduced income tax rates of 5% for IT companies until 2030. In addition, it is possible to apply benefits for IT companies during reorganization in the form of spin-off. Another decision concerns expanding the list of income for radio-electronic industry organizations that is taken into account for the application of reduced insurance premium rates.
The bill was also finalized regarding the issue of filling local budgets. The government decided to transform the resort tax currently in force in a rather limited regime (from the point of view of territorial applicability and collection management policy) into a tourist tax. At the same time, it is the municipal authorities, based on the relevance, that will determine the rates and, in fact, the very feasibility of establishing a tourist tax.
A very constructive approach is provided for the smooth introduction of this tax into tax practice through a mechanism for gradually increasing rates: the tax rate will increase gradually, starting from 1% of the cost of living in 2025 and adding 1 percentage point per year until 2029 (from 2029 and then no more than 5%). The tax itself will be credited to local budgets at the location of the hotels, forming an additional source of local tax revenue, which, of course, should have a beneficial effect on the development of municipalities.
It is extremely important that certain categories of citizens are immediately identified for whom the tax will not be included in the cost of hotel services (among them are participants in a special military operation, disabled people of groups I and II and other categories). In turn, local authorities are given the right to expand the list of categories of citizens for whom the tourist tax will not be levied.
It is impossible not to mention the amendments to the personal income tax. While maintaining the general concept of progressive taxation inherent in the basic version, the government proposed increasing the tax deduction for passing the GTO standards to 18 thousand rubles.
The amendments also align the conditions for calculating personal income tax on digital financial assets with securities transactions – personal income tax rates on income from digital financial assets are limited to 15%.
In addition, it is worth especially noting the Russian President’s proposal to finalize the tax deduction for families with children whose family income has not exceeded 1.5 times the subsistence level per one family member.
Thus, the President of Russia proposed providing such a deduction as a priority relative to other tax deductions. It is worth explaining what the key positive of this proposal is. It's all about the urgency of providing a new personal income tax deduction, and vice versa, the perpetuity of some deductions, but which have a significant impact on the amount of the tax refund, for example, a property deduction for the purchase of real estate.
And now, in accordance with the proposal of the President of Russia, the new deduction will be implemented first, which will not allow it to “burn out,” and only then the property one, which, by the way, let us remind you, can be returned for an unlimited number of tax periods.
Undoubtedly, this initiative is designed to further increase tax fairness in the system of tax legal relations between the state and families with children. Large families are guaranteed a 7% personal income tax refund, regardless of all the deductions they receive.
Of course, subsequent law enforcement practice will bring many more requests for refinement of the tax changes being implemented, including in terms of practical application and development of tax practice administration.
However, the general vector of development of tax policy is visible not only in the basic concept of the bill, but also in the amendments presented by the government. Namely: developing tax incentives for investment in the domestic economy, solving problems of budget balance and, of course, increasing tax fairness.