Tax offenses areillegal acts of the taxpayer committed by intent or ignorance and requiring punishment in accordance with tax legislation. As such an offender may be a specific person (an individual) or an organization (legal entity). Responsibility for tax offenses extends to persons who have reached the age of sixteen. The illegal act of a citizen of the Russian Federation in the field of tax legislation can be recognized as such if it does not contain signs of the composition of a criminal offense. For example, evasion from registering a person with the tax authorities is considered a violation of the tax legislation, while the transfer of a bribe to a tax official is already considered as a criminal offense.
Description of types of tax offenses andthe sixteenth chapter of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is devoted to the responsibility that may follow. According to it, the following offenses can be classified as such:
- Conducting commercial activities (both by an organization and an individual entrepreneur) without registering with the appropriate tax authority.
- Refusal to provide information on the opening or closing of a bank account by the taxpayer.
- Provision of inaccurate documents to the tax authority.
- Unreliable accounting in the organization, concealment from the tax authorities of a part of income.
- Failure to fulfill duties on transfer of taxes in favor of the state.
- Refusal to provide the tax service with the information necessary to maintain tax control over the person's activities.
The composition of a tax offense may also beis in the refusal of the employing organization to formalize its employees according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and to pay them a "white" salary. These acts, as a rule, are punishable in the form of a fine. To the circumstance mitigating in this case the responsibility of the offender, is the commission of a tax crime under the influence of coercion or threat, blackmail, etc.
For some tax offenses, the Russianthe legislation provides for criminal punishment (articles 198-199.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, an individual is always the subject of criminal responsibility. For example, in the case of tax evasion by the whole organization, the charge will be brought against its director or chief accountant, in some cases - to the founder. Persons who have reached the age of 16 and who are recognized as fully responsible may also be prosecuted for refusing to pay taxes.
Tax offenses in which the composition of a criminal offense may be found:
- Failure to fulfill the duties of a tax agent.
- Failure to pay taxes and fees.
- Concealment of monetary and material assets of an individual or legal entity from tax authorities.
Refusal to pay the necessary taxes and fees inthe use of the state entails punishment in the form of a fine of up to three hundred thousand rubles or imprisonment for up to a year. The decision on punishment in this case is taken depending on the amount of the non-payment amount. A person who for the first time evades paying taxes may be exempted from criminal liability in the event of full payment of the amount of arrears, penalties and fines.
The absence of a criminal offense inthe act of the offender does not mean that tax offenses can remain unpunished, since for their commission the punishment is also provided in accordance with the Tax and Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. If the act of the taxpayer is considered as an administrative violation, he will also have to pay in full the amount of the debt, penalty and penalty in a timely manner.
