Small business and citizens will have to come down with money

In spite that the authorities have refused rather challenged decision on the introduction of sales tax, business and citizens will even so have to experience the increase of the level of tax burden.

On the 21th of November the State Duma has passed the law, which allows the introduction of sales charges in three cities of federal importance since the 1st of July 2015, i.e. in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Sevastopol. Sales charges in municipal units, not being a part of these cities, can be introduced only after adoption of relevant federal law.

The sale tax will be collected quarterly. The new tax will be paid by enterprises and individual entrepreneurs engaged in stationary and non-stationary trading, sale from stock, as well as in organization of retail markets at the rate of not more than 550 RUB per 1 sq. m of the area of such market (with annual indexation by a deflator coefficient).

The entrepreneurs, using patent system of taxation, and agricultural single tax payers are exempted from sale tax.

Besides that, the bill provides for the increase since 2016 of the limiting date of real estate possession from three up to five years, proceeds from whose sale are exempted from personal income tax.

A three year period is preserved for real estate, which is propagated or transferred by gift agreements from family members or close relatives, privatized, transferred by a life estate agreement. The minimum taxable income by real estate sale is prescribed at the rate of cadastral value (if it is determined) multiplied by decreasing coefficient 0,7.

By the law of the subject of the RF the minimum limiting date of real estate possession and decreasing coefficient value can be reduced to 0. These standards will be extended to real estate transactions, which will be closed by citizens after the 1st of January 2016.