To solve the problem of gray wages, we need to use international practice, says professor of the Financial University under the government of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Economic Sciences Alexander Safonov. for example, apply the Italian approach, where at one time the financial police gained the right to impose fines on citizens for non-transparent purchases in terms of income.
The shadow wage problem
At a meeting in Saratov, representatives of the Federal Tax Service discussed the federal program to legalize shadow wages. According to the deputy head of the Federal Tax Service Svetlana Bondarchuk, the issue of withdrawing income from the "gray" zone is relevant for all regions of Russia.
Moreover, this situation is observed not only in small and medium-sized enterprises., but also in large companies with more than 2,5 thousands of people. By reason of, that a significant part of the income of Russians is in the gray zone, regional economies are developing at a slower pace.
“The problem of gray wages has existed for a long time, its foundation was laid back in the 90s, when businesses saved on wages, not paying it at all, either delaying payments for a long period of time. This attitude was widespread., including in the largest companies. AT 1998 year, the salary arrears indicator was 100 billion rubles a month
AT 2005 year after the adoption of amendments to the legislation, who introduced criminal penalties for managers for non-payment of wages, the situation has changed, and the debt per month fell to 26 billion rubles. clear, that it was necessary to find an alternative to saving on the wages fund. And starting from 2003-2004 years, other forms of withdrawal from the payment of white wages began to develop.
They affected primarily large industrial enterprises, who began to massively introduce a system of hired personnel for workers. Thus the company, eg, уходили от надбавок и компенсаций за вредные и опасные условия труда. Впоследствии лазейка была закрыта и введен контроль на заключение договор посреднических компаний», – According to the expert ABF "Economics today».
Subsequently, the enterprises took the path of downsizing, when the firms were created, having simplified accounting and tax benefits, then everything flowed into the form of IP, and now labor relations are moving into the system of legal entity - self-employed. According to Safonov, it is very beneficial for companies, as self-employed only pays 6% and this way the salary can be cleared, which is then paid in envelopes back to the employees of the legal entity. In its current form, the problem is relevant for many large and medium-sized enterprises..
The Italian Approach to Solving the Gray Salary Problem
According to the calculations of the Ministry of Finance, the volume of the "gray" wage bill in Russia today is about 10 trillion rubles a year. A significant part of this amount falls on the sector of self-employed Russians, the number of which, according to the compulsory health insurance fund, reaches 15 million people.
The Federal Tax Service reports, that one of the criteria for checking companies is the payment of salaries to employees is clearly lower, than the industry in the region. Analysis of the work of such companies allows us to find other violations., including the unjustified application of tax deductions for VAT and the illegal inclusion of expenses in the composition of costs.
“There is a solution to this problem., it is necessary not to reinvent the wheel, but take advantage of international practice. for example, apply the Italian approach, where at one time the financial police gained the right to impose fines on citizens for non-transparent purchases in terms of income, when there is a car, and there can be no money for it according to the documents. Now, in the direction of calculating the ratio of income and expenses, our FTS is also working ", – adds Safonov.
Law enforcement agencies also work better, and Financial Monitoring, the Central Bank also got down to business, connecting bank accounts and other possibilities for tracking the movement of funds. As the expert of RISS noted earlier Mikhail Belyaev, in this case the digital economy helps very well, using modern means of control over electronic payments. The field for hiding funds is narrowing, which means that the volume of shadow business is shrinking and the economy is whitewashed, including salaries.
Returning to the Italian approach, then the inability to buy transport and real estate for many people is a serious factor in favor of legal work. In Italy, for example, the volume of shadow business was halved by such methods. – from 40% to 20%. But such draconian measures to change the reporting system of companies and citizens are possible in that case, if they are associated with a reduction in the tax burden, since otherwise, according to Safonov, you can pinch, and the business will just die.
Andrey Petrov
