Aitbayev A., master’s student of 1st course
Law Faculty
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Republic of Kazakhstan
To
a question of concept of a tax
Taxes - one of the most ancient financial
institutions: they arose together with emergence of the state and were used by
it as the main source of means for the maintenance of public authorities and
material security of performance of the functions by it. Since then in the
world a lot of things changed, new lines got tasks and functions of the state.
However the main mission of taxes as source of the means providing functioning
of the state remained though the role they became much more multidimensional.
The modern state for replenishment of the treasury uses also other types of
receipts and payments. But on the first place among them on the value and
volume taxes act.
Not incidentally the President of the Republic of
Kazakhstan N. A. Nazarbayev in the annual Message to the people of Kazakhstan
notes: "Reforming of tax and customs policy has to become the important
tool of all policy of economic modernization".
Taxes (in old times they
were called by "taxes"), along with spoils of war and duties, are,
perhaps, the most ancient way of getting by the state to themselves money.
Emergence of taxes is referred in general to the period of formation of the
first state educations when there is a commodity production, the government –
officials, army, and courts is formed. Originally taxes existed in the form of
the unsystematic payments wearing mainly natural uniform.
Kazakhstan on a threshold of new breakthrough forward
in the development. Occurrence strategy Kazakhstan to number of fifty most
competitive countries the world / Message of the President of the Republic of
Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev to the people of Kazakhstan, Astana, 1st March, 2006 – Almaty: Zhety zhargy, 2006. Page 46.
Need of the maintenance of the state and its
institutes also caused emergence of the taxation. In process of development and
strengthening of the commodity-money relations taxes gradually take almost
everywhere the exclusive monetary form.
From the moment of emergence of the state, taxes are a
necessary link of the economic relations in society. Development and change of
forms of the state steadily is followed by transformation of tax system. The
main source of the income of the state in a modern civilized society – taxes.
In addition, taxes are used for economic impact of the state on a social
production, its dynamics and structure, on development of scientific and
technical progress.
It should be noted that, despite centuries-old history
of collection of taxes, numerous scientific development in their occasion (both
an economic, and legal order), the question of concept of a tax continues to
remain disputable, and the available its definitions aren't deprived, these or
those shortcomings.
So, S. D. Tsypkin defined taxes as established by the
state obligatory individually – gratuitous monetary payments which are made in
the budget in the presence of the corresponding material prerequisites at in
advance provided rates and in precisely certain terms.
Even more laconic definition offers E.D. Sokolov:
"The tax is the obligatory gratuitous payment (contribution) established
by the legislation and which is carried out by the payer in a certain size and
in a certain time".
The famous pre-revolutionary financier P.P. Genzel
about it notes that "already in the ancient world taxation techniques,
various inventories and distinguished ways of collecting were perfectly
known".
And the modern scientist M. T. Ospanov correctly, in
our opinion, sees a germ form of the modern taxation in "the most renowned
tithe canonized almost for two millennia by Christian and Muslim
religions", noting thus that in "conditions when the state in
perfective aspect didn't exist yet and rudimentary forms of the state
organization were shown at one people in the form of patriarchally organized
associations (the German tribes), at other city-states (the Greek world and the
Appeninsky peninsula) coping oligarchies, at the third theocratic dynasties
(Egypt and the Forward peninsula), here it isn't necessary to speak about
nation-wide laws: them then unwritten, but from it not less strict quite
replaced, laws of religious communities.
On the basis of the stated material, it is obviously
possible to give the following definition. A tax – established by the state
(represented by authorized body) unilaterally and in an appropriate legal form
the obligatory payment made by the taxpayer in a certain order and the sizes,
having irrevocable, without an equivalent and stable character, payment with
which it is provided with measures of the state coercion.
We will consider tax signs now.
Distinguish legal and economic signs of a tax.
Treat legal signs of a tax:
- establishment of a tax by the state;
- existence of a tax, only in a legal form;
- establishment of a tax to appropriate bodies and
acts, subject legal form (a sign of legality of a tax);
- compulsory character of a tax;
- the tax is obligatory payment;
- payment of a tax is a legal duty;
- generations by a tax of stable financial
obligations;
- legitimacy of withdrawal of money;
- ensuring payment of a tax with measures of the state
responsibility;
- existence of the state control of payment of a tax.
It is possible to carry the following to economic
signs of a tax:
- the tax acts as payment to the state;
- irrevocability;
- without an equivalent;
- stable character of the tax relations;
- existence of object of taxation;
- definiteness of the subject of a tax;
- definiteness of the size of a tax;
- fixity of terms of payment;
- the tax is the income of the state;
- change of form of ownership at payment of a tax.
Taxes are the main source of existence of the state
and financing of its activity. For this purpose the state forms the tax system
which includes set of taxes of various look. Thus his payer, object of the
taxation, rate, an order of payment and a privilege are determined by each tax.
Also tax structure – system of the specialized tax authorities allocated with
powerful powers of authority is formed (especially regarding implementation of
tax control).
In many countries of the world tax systems developed
gradually, for many years. Kazakhstan had no time for long evolution of
creation of tax system, the fastest formation and development of national
economy was necessary. The young sovereign republic won't be able to pass for
one period to completely satisfactory and modern tax system. Advance to this
purpose has to be carried out step by step to give time, both to taxpayers, and
to the tax organizations to comprehend changes as they are brought.
The system of taxes in the Republic of Kazakhstan can
be characterized as follows.
1. In the Republic of Kazakhstan nation-wide taxes
which are the regulating sources of the state budget of the Republic of
Kazakhstan work, the sums of assignments on them come to the income of the
relevant budgets in the order defined in the Budgetary code of the Republic of
Kazakhstan and the local taxes and fees which are profitable sources of local
budgets.
2. The taxes operating in the territory of the
Republic of Kazakhstan are subdivided on direct and indirect. The value added
tax and excises belong to indirect taxes. Other taxes belong to direct taxes.
3. Taxes are estimated and paid to tenge, except for
cases when the tax law of the Republic of Kazakhstan and provisions of the
contracts for subsurface use signed by the Competent authority authorized by
the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan provided a natural form of
payment, and also when payment of taxes is carried out in foreign currency
according to the customs legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
4. Release from any tax or reduction of the tax rate
provided by the Tax code can be made as modification and additions of the tax
code.
5. Granting tax privileges by other acts, including
the privileges having individual character is forbidden. In other words, all
tax activity of the state is realized only in legal forms.
It should be noted that formation in Kazakhstan of the
enterprise relations, variety of forms of ownership, formation of the
conventional principles of protection of human rights - all this demands from
tax regulation of such ways and approaches which are dictated not only needs of
the state and the budget, but also the laws of market economy based on fight
for a survival of economic entities in the conditions of the competition and
enhancement of a private property.