Development of recommendations for optimizing the organization's taxation system. Tax optimization services
For each company, the main task is to increase the profitability of their business. It is well known that significant costs of the enterprise are tax payments. Every year, the policy of the tax system in our country is becoming tougher and tougher, so entrepreneurs are interested in tax optimization methods.
Careful work with company taxes is a process that needs to be thought through both when opening your enterprise and later, when the company is already operating.
The process of choosing the best option for paying taxes is an important activity of any business entity, which is aimed primarily at reducing tax payments. This can be done without violating applicable law.
Tax evasion and the process of bringing the company's tax system to the best possible state are two different things. Accordingly, the main criterion for distinguishing these actions will be compliance with or violation of the law.
Unfortunately, tax minimization by legal means is not always effective. As a rule, it consists in various state-provided benefits for entrepreneurs, so not all of its methods can be applied in organizations of different legal forms.
In turn, illegal understatement of payments entails criminal liability in the Russian Federation. The Criminal Code punishes for the minimization of tax payments that are made with the help of enterprises - one-night stands, illegal contracts, a decrease in the real amount of revenue, an overestimation of the enterprise's costs and other methods. Therefore, for the businessman himself, and for his company, it is more profitable to be a conscientious taxpayer.
Key points in tax optimization
Optimization methods can be perfectly legal. To implement them, you should always remember three things:
- in accordance with the current legislation, it is allowed to engage in commercial activities using various organizational and legal forms that are entitled to a different taxation procedure;
- the taxpayer in some cases has the opportunity to choose the taxation regime for his organization;
- the taxpayer has the right to choose different ways of accounting for their business transactions, of course, taking into account the provisions of the law.
Tools for implementing optimization are diverse, moreover, due to constant changes in legislation, they tend to become obsolete. In addition, often, a previously legal way to reduce payments, after a certain assessment by the state, can become “illegal”.
For an efficient business, you should always be aware of the developments that occur in the legislation in order to correct the taxation schemes applied at the enterprise in time.
Business creation
Even before opening your enterprise, it is quite possible to choose the most optimal taxation system, having previously developed a business plan for your activities.
Let's consider what optimization of IP taxation can be even before starting a business.
So, in 2014, when creating a private business, you can voluntarily choose, in addition to the OSNO, UTII, STS and the Patent taxation system.
We calculate the tax burden of a certain type of activity in order to determine which tax system will be beneficial for business development. For example, a private entrepreneur who has employees and provides cargo transportation services using his own transport will pay the following payments (for calculation, let's take the amount of a fixed payment that the entrepreneur pays for himself in 2014 - 20727.53 rubles):
- under the UTII system. The formula by which the amount of the payment is calculated: basic yield * (physical indicator * 12 months) * K1 * K2 * 15% - contributions (not exceeding 50%); 6000 * (3 * 12) * 1.672 * 1 * 15% \u003d 54172.8 - 27086.4 \u003d 27086.4 rubles.
- under the patent system of taxation. Here the annual income is multiplied by the tax rate: 360,000*6% = 21,600 rubles
- with USN. Calculation formula: income * 6% - contributions (not exceeding 50%) - 720,000 * 6% - 21,600 \u003d 21,600 rubles
From the above example, it can be seen that for the specified type of activity, a profitable payment system is a patent form, or a simplified one with an “income” object, taking into account the fact that income will not exceed the above amount.
Thus, having created a business plan, and having determined the planned indicators for at least a year, it is quite possible to save on taxes by choosing a suitable taxation system for this.
Even before establishing your organization, you can consider the simplified taxation option by choosing one of two objects - income, which is taxed at a rate of 6%, or expenses, taxed at a rate of 15%. Having a business plan in hand, it will be easy to choose the right object - knowing that the costs of the enterprise will be less than 60%, then, accordingly, it is more profitable to tax income, if more - then expenses.
The presented examples clearly demonstrate that ways to optimize payments are possible even before starting a business.
Special tax regimes: Video
Types of tax optimization for an enterprise
Before you start looking for the best tax option, you should determine which type of taxation will be most suitable for the enterprise.
As a rule, two types of optimization are usually considered:
- Strategic, developed for a long period, in which the most effective form of financial and economic activity is determined and, if properly organized, a positive result remains for a very long time.
- Improving the taxation of individual business transactions. There is a one-time effect here. As a rule, these are various combinations with the conditions and procedures for contracts concluded by the entrepreneur, etc.
In addition, tax optimization at the enterprise is divided into two schemes, different depending on the result that the businessman wants to get:
- reduction in payments;
- deferment of payments and transfer of their payments to another time.
As a rule, optimal taxation will be more effective if, in practice, these methods are combined with each other.
Tax Optimization: Video
As already noted, in order to get a return on optimization, this process must be carried out comprehensively, since paying attention only to individual transactions or types of taxes will bring a one-time effect. Moreover, it often happens that a decrease in the payment of one tax can significantly increase the payment of another. Measures that are aimed at reducing tax payments are recommended to be carried out even before transactions and other operations, and not by the date of submission of the next reporting of the enterprise.
In general, it can be noted that the procedures in question are quite complicated, for which it is necessary to keep a professional on the staff of the company, or seek the help of specialists in companies providing such services.
If you do not violate the conditions discussed above, then the costs of the enterprise for paying taxes can be significantly reduced in completely legal ways.
This procedure consists in a preliminary analysis of the various consequences even before the start of the conclusion of economic and financial contracts.
Depending on what the terms of the contract will be, there will be tax liabilities.
Factors affecting tax payments
- transfer of ownership of goods or products - this condition indicates the moment of sale and, consequently, the timing of taxes;
- relations between the parties, since the territorial department of the tax inspectorate has the right to verify the correctness of the application of prices in transactions between interdependent organizations;
- choice of counterparty - resident; non-resident with benefits; an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity - all this can significantly affect the size of the tax burden.
Thus, when concluding any contract, one should take into account its features that affect the system of fees. It is recommended to use the balance method of tax planning in the implementation of contractual work. In this case, the minimization and optimization of taxation will be more beneficial, since the consequences can be foreseen using this method.
A fairly simple but effective way that increases the cost of production is to overstate the price of fixed assets of an enterprise, which can be carried out during revaluation using depreciation. However, this scheme does not work for all enterprises, since the high price of fixed assets increases the corporate property tax.
Popular tax optimization schemes
Existing taxation schemes can be suitable for each organization or be strictly individual. Common is:
- application of tax incentives,
- various methods of deferred payment of payments,
- legal ways to abolish taxes,
- carrying out activities in offshore zones,
- and much more.
Many organizations believe that the optimization of taxation of an enterprise is possible only through the interaction of several organizations that have different taxation regimes.
So, often businessmen open several companies, where the main company plays the role of an intermediary. A company with a general regime can conclude a commission agreement with a company on simplified taxation that purchases goods from a manufacturer. Further, the main organization resells the goods, receiving a commission, reducing the amount of VAT, which is charged only on the amount of commission received.
In another case, a company with a traditional regime can sell its goods to its own company, which has a simplified taxation system or a single tax on imputed income with the smallest margin, while bearing the minimum tax burden. The income from the sale will be received by other firms that will sell products at the market price, but will pay significantly less taxes.
However, it should be borne in mind that the considered options often cause close attention of the tax authorities. It is important that the firm with which the main organization interacts has an independent name and legal address, and conducts real business activities.
To reduce tax payments, it is quite realistic to use a scheme with a delay in the shipment of products. The main thing here is to conclude an agreement with an enterprise operating on the UTND, and you should agree in advance with the counterparty about the desire to apply this scheme. You can interest the counterparty in such an offer by promising him a discount. To implement this scheme, a clause on penalties for violation of delivery dates is included in the supply agreement, although in reality this point has already been discussed with the partner and he turns a blind eye to this. In accordance with the law, the penalty is not subject to VAT. The counterparty does not pay VAT, so the considered tax optimization scheme does not cause him concern.
It is possible to defer payment of VAT when goods are shipped in parts, and not in one delivery. Then the tax will be paid upon shipment of the last consignment of goods.
In this case, the tax must be paid on the day of shipment of the last batch. For example, if there is an agreement with the buyer that the company will ship only the main part of the products in the 1st quarter, and send the rest in the 2nd quarter, then the accounting department will have to pay VAT only in the 2nd quarter. The main thing here is that the contract states that the delivery is carried out in parts, due to the large weight or volume of goods.
As can be seen from the considered examples, the optimization of the tax system is not a game, but a difficult job that requires a thorough analysis of each situation, not only by accountants, but also by lawyers.
Individual tax minimization schemes
Any company can create a tax optimization scheme, so it should be remembered that applying well-known methods of tax optimization based on the practice of other companies can cause significant damage to your business.
As a rule, the success of most optimization methods lies in finding existing gaps in tax legislation and further turning them in your favor.
Therefore, it is necessary to involve a specialist in this work, who must be well versed in the laws, in order to be sure that the loophole found will bring the maximum benefit to the taxpayer. From this it follows that the optimization of the organization's taxation should not be limited to hiring a high-class chief accountant, but requires the involvement of a much larger staff of competent specialists.
To obtain a decent result, it is required to conduct a comprehensive analysis of all areas of the company's activities, and only in this case, the developed individual method for a particular company to reduce payments will work in reality.
Let us also consider tax minimization schemes used in practice.
Entrepreneurs began to withdraw assets from the company. To do this, they create another organization, which, by virtue of its activities, can apply a simplified taxation system. The fixed assets of the first organization are transferred to this company as a contribution to the authorized capital or they are sold to it by installments or at a low price, then the main company concludes a lease agreement for this property with the newly created organization. Such a scheme brings significant benefits to businessmen:
- firstly, the tax on the property of the organization is not paid;
- secondly, the tax base for income is reduced by reducing it by the amount of rental payments, since they are expenses of the enterprise.
Is the game worth the candle?
The ways and methods of tax optimization considered in this article are not a violation of Russian legislation. However, it should be remembered that the tax authorities do not welcome such schemes and, moreover, they are aware of them. Therefore, almost every year, changes are made to the Tax Code aimed at reducing tax minimization schemes used in practice, since they cause damage to the state treasury.
Therefore, the optimization of the taxation system of an enterprise should not be a way to avoid paying taxes, but should be as close as possible to the law and legal methods. If a businessman has the opportunity to reduce the amount of tax payments, and he can do it legally, then such optimization will benefit not only the enterprise, but also the state.
A set of measures aimed at reducing tax liabilities by applying one of the available methods (schemes, methods) by the taxpayer. All actions related to the optimization of the tax burden should not contradict the norms of the law.
Purposes and types
The main goals of the existing tax optimization methods are:
- Reducing the amount of taxation.
- Minimize penalties.
- Minimizing tax risks in the process of activity.
- Maximum deferment of tax payments and their transfer to a later date.
The main schemes for optimizing the tax burden include:
- Taking action based on tax types.
- Optimization by categories of taxpayers (LLC, IP).
- Investment in taxation, taking into account the type of organization - insurers, banks and others.
The most popular method of tax optimization is the use of preferential tax collection systems. But this scheme is far from the only one. With the right approach, any company can resort to a number of other methods, including business splitting, obtaining IP services, applying tax incentives, and others.
Popular methods (schemes, methods) of tax optimization
Applying the Right Tax Payment Regimes
The easiest way to optimize the tax burden is to apply the right taxation regimes.
This option works when the company has buyers without the need for VAT (IP on the "average"). To implement this scheme, you can do the following:
- Create a company on UTII or USN.
- Separate implementation threads.
- Involve in the work of IP on PSN.
In this case, all agreements with clients who do not need VAT are transferred to another entrepreneur or legal entity. As for the main company, it retains contracts with buyers and wholesale customers who need VAT. When implementing this method, it is worth remembering that the constituent entities of the Russian Federation every year adopt new laws or amend existing rules regarding the reduction of rates for certain jobs.
Tolling
An equally popular tax optimization scheme is tolling. The peculiarity of the method is that it is based on the use of tolling materials. Further, the essence is as follows. The recycling organization receives materials from another party (customer). With their help, production is organized. The main feature is the absence of the need to pay for the goods immediately after receipt. Payments are made by already finished products or by returning materials in the same volume.
The tax rate depends on the region in which the company operates. In some areas, the percentage is almost halved. At the same time, the right to reduce tax payments due to the payment of insurance premiums remains unchanged. For example, in the Tula region, the tax rate can be reduced in this way to 1.5%.
This scheme can also be implemented in another way - by transferring production assets to a firm operating on an "average" basis. This is done through the division or separation of LLC. If you have decent revenue, you can go the other way - write an application to the Federal Tax Service and switch to the simplified tax system.
How to apply this tax optimization method for clients who need VAT? In such a situation, a company is opened on a general form of taxation, which takes over the purchase of raw materials. It is on it that transport costs are transferred, as well as other costs, including VAT. As soon as the "intermediary" company buys raw materials, they are transferred for processing. The company is transferred to the DOS finished goods, which are sold to the final consumer. It turns out that VAT is “tied” to an organization operating on a common form.
Tax optimization through business separation
Another way of tax optimization is the division (crushing) of the business. Despite the effectiveness, such a scheme is very risky and requires a careful approach from the performer. The method gained popularity due to tax savings, the use of the possibilities of the simplified tax system or UTII, the reduction of insurance payments and the amount of personal income tax.
One way or another, most of the leaders of the organization apply tax minimization. There is a legal minimization of taxation and illegal.
Legal minimization of taxation often ineffective and not all methods of legal minimization are applicable to all organizations. The state is constantly working on legislation - reducing the number of tax benefits and exemptions, as well as patching up "holes" in the legislation.
Illegal tax minimization associated with banal tax evasion, by underestimating tax payments, this is a violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation (Articles 198 and 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Here is the minimization of taxes through the use of one-day firms, fictitious contracts, understating revenue, increasing costs, and much more.
Tax minimization
This tax minimization is fraught with unpleasant consequences for the CEO, so most resort to another method. Namely, a combination of legal and illegal minimization, as it is called "gray" tax minimization.
Of course, this tax minimization requires extensive knowledge of tax legislation, skillful use of tax planning tools. Any tax minimization must be carried out within reasonable limits and tax minimization schemes must be constantly modernized and adjusted to changes in laws.
Tax minimization schemes
Existing tax minimization schemes are strictly individual, they use tax incentives, legal ways to defer taxes, tax exemptions, offshore organizations, "organizations-laying" and much more. There are also tax minimization schemes that are tied to a combination of several organizations with different taxation regimes.
For example, tax minimization schemes in which there is one large organization working on DOS and one or more organizations using the simplified tax system or UTII, depending on the situation.
The essence of the tax minimization scheme is that an organization on the OSN sells goods to other “own” organizations with a minimum margin, and these organizations sell the goods to the final buyer at a market price. Thus, it turns out that the organization on the DOS bears the minimum tax burden, and the main income is received by “their” organizations on the simplified tax system or UTII, where taxes are much less.
Such a scheme for minimizing taxation, despite its simplicity, requires careful study of specialists: accountants, lawyers and tax consultants, otherwise, during the audit, additional taxes may be charged in full.
Tax minimization scheme
When using a tax minimization scheme, you need to soberly assess the risks and be aware of the consequences if something goes wrong, or the tax authorities will try to recognize these transactions as illegal. That is why you must first think through everything, calculate, and then make and implement tax minimization schemes. And of course, you need to immediately prepare for the worst, collect arguments and evidence, because you may have to defend your position in court.
Modern realities are such that the “presumption of innocence” is just words, and when proceedings begin on the part of government agencies, the taxpayer is forced to justify himself for his actions. Both inspection bodies and courts look at him from the position of “presumption of guilt”.
Because of this, the tax minimization scheme must be absolutely transparent and comply with all laws.
There are other ways to minimize taxes - illegal, but they are becoming less popular among entrepreneurs, as the state has significantly tightened the responsibility for their application.
Ways to minimize taxes
Recall that there are the following ways to minimize taxes: legitimate (tax planning) and illegal (tax avoidance).
Legal ways to minimize taxes are used by competent managers and act using a well-constructed accounting policy, tax incentives, tax deferrals and, of course, “holes” in the legislation.
Illegal or criminal ways to minimize taxes are used by fearless leaders who are confident in their impunity, or who have a “couple of jokers” up their sleeves that will solve problems if they arise.
But even managers who are not clean at hand understand that they need to get out of the shadows, while at the same time preserving current income to the maximum, and it is tax optimization that will help them in this.
Tax optimization
The concept of tax optimization includes a set of methods and ways to reduce the tax burden of the company.
For each manager, tax optimization means something different, everyone puts their own vision of the situation into this concept. But one thing remains unchanged. no matter what path the director of the organization chooses for himself, no matter what methods he uses, he seeks to reduce the tax burden of the organization while earning more profit.
This is the paradox: tax optimization reduces tax payments to the budget, while the actual profit of the organization increases. It's like a game, and as you know, each game has its own rules, although the taxpayer has already lost in this game, because you still have to pay taxes. But he has the opportunity to reduce their size, and he can do it according to the rules (legally), or try to deceive the system and violate the established rules. And everyone decides for himself what kind of tax optimization he likes.
Tax optimization
If everything is thought out from the very beginning, then no optimization of taxes in the raging may be needed. For example, if a person wants to open his own business and sell flowers in a tent or open a nail salon, then the best choice for him, provided that UTII has been canceled, will be the simplified tax system at 6% (income). At the same time, not an LLC, but an individual entrepreneur. Since the individual entrepreneur is obliged to pay insurance premiums annually, and he can reduce the tax on the amount of these insurance premiums. In 2013, we can say the amount of tax-free income is slightly more than 550 thousand rubles.
Here is a striking example of tax optimization taking place even before taxes are formed. Such tax optimization is not applicable in all cases and not to all areas of business, but still it helps to understand the essence of the process of optimizing tax deductions.
One more example when tax optimization occurs before the opening of the business. Suppose you have decided on the taxation regime and have chosen the simplified tax system. But it distinguishes two objects of taxation: the first is income (6%) and the second is income reduced by the amount of expenses (15%). Which of the objects to choose to pay less taxes. This can be easily determined if you have a business plan or at least know how much expenses in percentage terms will be in 1 ruble earned. If the percentage of costs is less than 60%, then the simplified tax system of 6% from income will be more profitable. If in the range of 60% -80%, then here you need to count, since, depending on the white wage fund, either the simplified tax system of 6% or the simplified tax system of 15% can be more profitable. And if the costs are more than 80% of the income, then it is definitely necessary to choose the simplified tax system of 15% of income minus expenses. This is the simplest example, when tax optimization allows you to save money at the very beginning of the journey.
Summing up all of the above, we can say that tax optimization is a tool for a successful business, and you should not underestimate it. Contact the specialists of GU Goodwin, and you will find additional financial reserves in your business through tax optimization.
From an economic point of view, reducing the company's expenses, including tax liabilities, is considered justified. It is assumed that the savings will go to business development. In any case, the development and implementation of rational taxation systems require a professional approach.
How to optimize corporate and individual entrepreneur taxes?
Laws tend to change regularly. New regulations and standards are being introduced, old ones are being amended. In addition, supervisory and regulatory authorities are competent to change the legal assessment of certain optimization methods. All these factors give rise to the need to constantly be aware of the latest changes in legislation and make adjustments to the company's taxation system as necessary.
All measures and procedures carried out as part of the rational distribution of funds are based on Article 3, Clause 7 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This article declares that issues and provisions that are not reflected in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, when used in practice, should be interpreted in favor of business entities.
Criteria
Attempts to find a rational approach can be carried out in two ways: minimizing costs and optimizing taxes. Although these concepts are close to each other in purpose, in fact the meanings are different. Minimizing payments can bring good results in terms of the company. But it is sometimes very difficult to implement it.
Tax optimization methods can be developed by the company's specialists or already known solutions can be applied. In any case, the finished solution must meet several strict requirements. It's the following:
- Legality. Implemented methods and methods must be strictly within the framework of the law. In addition, they must not directly or indirectly contradict applicable laws.
- Efficiency. How much money can tax optimization save an organization? Ideally, this amount should be known in advance and be the target of implementing best practices.
- Autonomy. Do you need outside help? Does not the introduction of new methods of attracting the services of expensive specialists every time? If the company itself is able to continue to work according to the chosen method, then one criterion is considered to be fulfilled.
- Reliability. Will tax optimization fail at the slightest change in legislation? Does the state plan to change the laws in the near future, under which the implemented method loses its relevance? Generally, financial managers need to know the answer to these questions.
- Minimum harm. Will the new methods lead to lower performance in other aspects of the company? Will production processes or personnel be affected? If tax optimization takes into account this criterion, then this is another step towards its justification.
- Efficiency. How will the new method affect profit margins? It is necessary to avoid all methods that reduce the level of profitability of the company, since each step towards the reduction is a step towards bankruptcy.
Most companies tend to use the classic method - reduced profit margins. After all, profit is the tax base. But such a method is justified if the savings are poured back into the enterprise itself for its future prosperity. If not, it is difficult to assess the level of savings and the feasibility of the methods used.
Ways
Specialists in the field of taxation, fiscal policy, tax authorities and, above all, experienced accountants are well aware that, despite the efforts of the state, the current legislation is not able to cover all aspects of taxation. Accordingly, there are a lot of moments and circumstances that can be interpreted in two ways or do not fit the description of any law at all. Often, tax optimization in large enterprises arises on such “convenient” grounds.
Measures to develop rational approaches can be implemented in two ways:
- Planning taxation systems. It is compiled in a similar way to planning other aspects of the company's activities: strategic or marketing planning. It is a list and set of actions and measures aimed at obtaining specific results. As a rule, all available methods and means that do not contradict legislative norms can be used here.
- Tax avoidance. And legally. In practice, few entrepreneurs pay attention to such an aspect as the possibility of avoiding taxes legally. By default, it is believed that there can be no truth, except for that which is carried by representatives of the fiscal authorities.
However, it should be borne in mind that the activities of the fiscal authorities are aimed at increasing the company's tax indicators, while their reduction is not prohibited by law. The method of tax planning just deals with this issue. Another question - how does he do it? Tax optimization schemes are carried out by searching for flaws, controversial issues and contradictions in the legislation.
Timing
Any action of the enterprise should be limited to certain time periods. Firstly, it allows you to measure specific results, and secondly, it makes it possible to analyze the feasibility of the methods used and to have time to abandon inappropriate methods of work in time.
From this point of view, legitimate tax optimization can be current and forward-looking. According to experts, the best results are achieved when an enterprise uses several different methods in combination. For example, if it was possible to achieve certain benefits, then in parallel, one should strive to increase sales figures and at the same time reduce expenses on secondary items.
In addition, planning should take into account the amounts of indirect and direct taxes. Calculations are made not only for new transactions, but for all types of transactions during the period of activity.
Kinds
Measures must be both internal and external in order to have noticeable effects. External methods concern the fundamental parameters of the subject. For example:
- Tax payments can be reduced by changing the form of ownership. It is necessary to analyze and compare, in the current type of activity, what advantages legal entities have and what shines for individual entrepreneurs. There are always ways in which you can fit into one or another separate status and receive special indulgences.
- taxes apply to business entities by type of their activity. For example, whether a business entity will pay UTII or not depends on its type of activity. It makes sense to take a closer look at changing the type of activity, in which the use of a simplified taxation system (STS) in the amount of 6 or 15%, as well as UTII, will be relevant.
- Change of territorial affiliation. Does everyone know that in the Russian Federation any federal laws can be adapted to the territorial requirements? In other words, local authorities have the right to make changes in the procedure for calculating taxes and apply them in practice. Even if the general rules remain the same, the rates for certain taxes may differ significantly. For example, rates on some UTII coefficients.
Replacement means registration of a business entity in another region, where rates for this type of activity are lower or benefits are provided.
Internal planning
The rationalization of internal processes includes various components of activity. There are no clear criteria for their classification. Therefore, it is customary to divide them into general and special methods.
Tax optimization risks of a general nature are carried out using the following measures:
- Use of benefits. With this method, the possibility of separating a part of the taxable object as a separate entity that can be exempted for certain types of taxes (property tax) or the possibility of tax deferral is considered.
- Analysis of the contract scheme, which considers the possibility of conducting one transaction in different ways, dividing it into several transactions of small volume.
- Optimization of accounting policy. This default procedure should be carried out at least once a year at each plant.
- The use of current assets, which imply an accelerated depreciation method or the rediscount of fixed assets. The result will be the optimization of the tax on profit or on the property of the enterprise.
In addition, special methods are applied in which there is a delay in payments, replacement of contractual relationships or reduction of the main types of property. These methods can be used singly or in combination.
Nuances
However, it cannot be said that the above methods are guaranteed to give the desired result. When considering a change in the type of activity or territory of registration, one should study not only benefits and incentives, but also obligations for business entities.
If the financial manager loses sight of this or that moment, the whole result of the work can even greatly worsen the financial results of the company. The proof of an unsuccessful decision is the increase in the tax burden. A good option is an offshore zone, where the tax burden is minimized.
Stages
The executors of the rationalization of tax systems in the organization can be their own employees in the person of an accountant, lawyer and other specialists in the relevant field. If there is not enough own strength and knowledge, then the management can turn to a consulting company. They work on the basis of a contract and, for a fee, will help reduce tax payments or other types of costs.
Implementation of the developed methods is carried out in several stages.
- Choosing a location for the future enterprise. The following factors should be taken into account: the system of taxation in the chosen area; the possibility of tax benefits; is it possible to get tax credits; how is the transfer of the tax system to another region, if necessary, etc.
- Creation of an enterprise. Registration in the optimal form of ownership.
- Analysis of the current taxation system.
- Search and consideration of all options for tax incentives: what is the tax burden and how can it be reduced?
- Analysis of typical company transactions in terms of taxation and ways to minimize their costs.
- Rational distribution of assets, investment under favorable conditions.
Rational approach to VAT
VAT can be optimized in several ways:
- Purchase of goods or raw materials on credit. Upon signing the main transaction, the parties draw up an annex to it - an agreement on netting. The tax authorities may interpret such a move as an illegal method.
- Entering a specific amount in the form of a deposit. The basis must be an appropriate contract. Such transactions are not subject to VAT.
- Using the services of logistics and transport companies. With this method, VAT is reduced by 10%.
- Buying options. They can be sold in the future. The proceeds from their sale are exempt from VAT.
- Realization of own property in order to repay debt obligations to creditors. True, the proceeds are not exempt from VAT. But if you create an additional enterprise and contribute the proceeds to it as authorized capital, then the new enterprise will be exempt from VAT.
When choosing schemes with VAT, you need to carefully conduct a legal assessment. In the field of taxation, there are often schemes to reduce or attempt to exempt part of the funds from VAT, but some of them may go beyond the law. In this case, punishment cannot be avoided.
Rationalization of income tax
There are several ways that are widely used in practice. The first scheme involves the creation of reserve funds with the involvement of third-party resources. Then the funds are written off for the early restoration of property. Expenses can be paid monthly or quarterly. The company determines the amount of funds raised independently. This optimization method will be legal only for those companies that have been operating for more than 3 years. This is due to the fact that the estimate of repair work should not exceed the total figures for the last 3 years.
Another example of profit tax optimization is the introduction of depreciation premiums. To do this, it is necessary to acquire new property and write off their value as a replacement for the old ones. This method, depending on the type of property replaced, makes it possible to reduce the basic part of the profit from 10 to 30%. It is important to consider that such an outcome is possible only when buying a new property. An exception is the types of property transferred for gratuitous use.
Legal assessment of methods
Attempts to reduce the tax burden should not go beyond what is permitted and acquire the character of tax evasion. From this point of view, black and white tax optimization stands out. The first method involves the use of schemes and fraud, which will subsequently lead to at least administrative responsibility. But a typical measure for such cases is the initiation of a criminal case on the initiative of the tax authorities. A common example of such methods is the creation of short-term enterprises or one-day firms.
But if the company really feels the need to reduce tax costs, then it is necessary to involve specialists from this field in the optimization process. An experienced accountant and a lawyer competent in tax matters will help you choose the most optimal ways in which the regulatory authorities, even if they understand the optimization scheme, will not be able to detect violations.
Conclusion
An uninformed person can easily confuse an optimization system with tax evasion, although, in fact, these are completely different things. Tax cuts within the framework of the law do not go unnoticed, especially targeted methods are used. To obtain significant results, it is necessary to take a comprehensive approach, analyzing the current state of the enterprise and forecasts for the future.
Often, a decrease in some indicators in accounting leads to an increase in other indicators. Taking into account such features, an integrated approach and experience of competent specialists is required.
"Tax Bulletin", 2009, N 6
For business entities, effective tax optimization is as important as the production strategy, which is due not only to the possibility of cost savings through payments to the budget, but also to the prospects for the stable operation of the organization. During the economic crisis, this problem becomes even more urgent due to the lack of banking financial resources, the difficulty of obtaining borrowed funds and, consequently, the need for businesses to rely mainly on their own resources.
Benefits of Legal Tax Optimization
One of the goals of organizations and individual entrepreneurs is to develop optimal solutions in production and economic activities, which allows them to carry out legal transactions with minimal tax losses.
Tax optimization is a system of various schemes and methods that allows an organization to choose the best solution for a specific situation in business activities.
Proper optimization of taxation (that is, carried out by legal methods) and forecasting of possible risks ensure a stable position of the organization in the market, since they allow avoiding large losses in the course of economic activity.
First step. Choosing a taxation system
Optimization of the organization's taxation should be carried out long before the start of the tax audit. And it is best to plan it even before creating an organization or registering an individual as an individual entrepreneur, since at the time of registration, an economic entity must choose a taxation system (general or simplified).
Tax optimization is able to bring the maximum effect at the very moment of the organization's creation, since the planning of future activities takes place under conditions when mistakes have not yet been made that will be difficult to correct in the future.
During registration, many business entities do not suspect that the tax accounting system is not built optimally, and this can lead to negative consequences in their activities.
Due to the fact that the legislative system of taxation in the Russian Federation is very complex and unstable, the taxpayer must take into account law enforcement and judicial practice in order to understand all aspects of taxation.
Second step. Creation of a tax optimization system
Let's try to derive a tax optimization formula, which means:
- optimization of the taxation system at the initial stage of the business, that is, the correct choice of the taxation system at the time of business registration;
- planning and assessing tax risks, taking into account the clarifications of the Russian Ministry of Finance and tax authorities (now this information is open to taxpayers and posted on the websites of departments);
- assessment of business contracts in terms of tax risks (we should not forget about the existence of such concepts as "imaginary" and "sham" transactions);
- monitoring the actions of tax authorities during a tax audit for compliance with tax laws;
- competent conduct of cases in court to challenge the decisions of tax authorities, taking into account the established judicial practice (in each region, the practice develops differently even in similar tax situations, and not all cases reach the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, so it is not yet necessary to talk about the uniformity of consideration of cases in courts ).
The process of creating and implementing a tax optimization system in an existing organization should at least include the following steps:
- verification of accounting and tax accounting;
- ensuring the required volume and quality of primary documents by the organization itself, as well as with the involvement of audit services;
- development of the tax optimization system itself, which may provide for the division of business functions of an economic entity between several structural divisions (or the creation of several structures for each stage of the business);
- development of the necessary tools for regulating the uniformity and size of tax payments for the created optimization system (for example, if you transferred your business to a simplified taxation system for optimization purposes, then calculate for internal analysis how much taxes you would pay under the general taxation system, determine the effect; or if If you have divided your production into stages by registering several independent business objects, then determine the amount of tax savings in comparison with the taxes of the holding as a whole).
The tax optimization system is based on certain principles. Here are some of them.
- The principle of cost adequacy.
The cost of creating a tax optimization system (internal costs of the organization or costs for paying for services of third-party organizations) should not exceed the amount of reduced taxes.
- The principle of legal compliance.
The essence of this principle lies in the inadmissibility of constructing tax optimization schemes based on conflicts or "gaps" in regulations. If certain provisions of the legislation are controversial and can be interpreted in favor of both the taxpayer and the state, there is a possibility of future litigation or the need to refine the scheme.
- The principle of confidentiality.
Access to information about the actual purpose and consequences of ongoing minimizations should be as limited as possible. It is desirable that no one except the owners imagine the whole picture. If everyone knows in detail only his stage (section), this will be enough.
- The principle of control.
Achieving the desired results from using the tax optimization scheme depends on well-thought-out control and the existence of real levers of influence on the situation.
- The principle of autonomy.
Actions to optimize taxation should depend as little as possible on external participants.
As you can see, the main goal is to build a general model for optimizing taxation depending on the type of activity of the organization and to carry out specific actions in accordance with this model, including minimizing taxation.
Optimization - always minimization?
Many people believe that tax optimization is carried out solely with the aim of minimizing the tax burden, so it is often called tax minimization.
In fact, tax optimization is a larger task facing an organization or an individual entrepreneur: in addition to minimizing the payment of taxes, its tools are tax deferrals, a decrease in the amount of "live" funds paid to the budget, and others. All of them are beneficial from the point of view of the taxpayer - the funds remain at the disposal of the taxpayer for a longer time and provide additional profit.
Thus, optimization of taxation and minimization of tax payments are not the same thing. For example, to reduce income tax, you can not optimize anything, but simply artificially increase gross expenses by including expenses for paying for services that were not actually provided, including expenses for marketing research conducted by third parties, etc. But this will no longer be an optimization, but an avoidance of taxation and, at the same time, a minimization. However, legal optimization can also lead to minimization of tax payments, therefore, these concepts must be distinguished.
Ways to optimize taxation
To prove the above, let's consider some ways to optimize taxation that are not related to minimizing the amount of taxes.
Let us analyze such a concept as the term for paying taxes. There are methods of moving the deadline for the payment of certain taxes for a certain period (without penalties). At the same time, the amount of taxes does not decrease, but from the point of view of financial management, there is a positive result: the funds remained in circulation and, therefore, brought additional profit. However, the mechanism for obtaining deferrals is currently so cumbersome that it is almost impossible to obtain them. For example, for federal taxes they are provided only by the central office of the Federal Tax Service. Can you imagine what will happen if all 4 million legal entities registered today in the Russian Federation simultaneously apply for a deferment to the central office of the Federal Tax Service? Consequently, the tax authorities need to work to ensure that the procedure for granting deferrals is more flexible, can vary for a specific economic situation, and if it is the largest taxpayer, then perhaps for it. But the taxpayer, for its part, can, if desired and with due patience, go through the procedure for obtaining a deferment until a positive decision is made and thereby optimize the timing of tax payment, having at its disposal additional working capital.
From the same positions, one can consider the issue of penalties for non-payment of taxes on time. From the point of view of tax optimization, the aforementioned penalties should be treated in the same way as any other payments, that is, they should be considered in terms of benefits. For example, it is possible to apply to the tax and judicial authorities with a request to reduce the amount of fines presented in accordance with Art. Art. 112 and 114 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In the presence of mitigating circumstances (and, as a rule, conscientious taxpayers have them), the amount of the fine should be reduced by at least two times! In practice, such appeals are received not so often, and then mainly to the courts, and not to the tax authorities. The reason is taxpayers' ignorance of their rights.
In conclusion, I note that the goal of optimizing tax payments is not to counteract the fiscal system of the state, which leads to the application of tax sanctions or criminal liability measures, but rather the legal release of assets for their further use in economic activity. The legislation gives the taxpayer the opportunity to legitimately avoid or, to a certain extent, reduce his mandatory payments to the budget (in the form of taxes, fees, duties and other payments), which does not entail adverse consequences for him.
Taking into account all the possible consequences, it is more profitable for the taxpayer to know his legal rights and use them than to minimize taxes by illegal methods.
A.N. Artemyeva
Head of the interdistrict IFTS of Russia N 3
in the Tver region,
adviser to the state
civil service
Russian Federation 1st class