Life after labeling. Ministry of Finance is preparing to abolish preferential tax regimes

The Russian shoe market is storming; it has not yet had time to get used to the idea of ​​the need for mandatory labeling of shoes, as a new change to the law is being prepared. The Ministry of Finance proposed to deprive sellers of goods that are subject to labeling of the opportunity to use special tax regimes - the Single imputed income tax (UTII) and patents.

It is expected that the abolition of special tax regimes will contribute to the whitewashing of the market. However, in the opinion of many of its participants, this step will entail negative consequences for the development of small business and for the shoe market as a whole.

The essence of the ban

At one time, simplified taxation regimes for UTII and PSN were introduced by the state in order to reduce the tax burden of small businesses, simplify administration, and thereby push small enterprises out of the shadows. It was quite difficult to control the turnover of a large number of small retail stores, and it was easier for the government to offer retailers to pay constant fixed taxes regardless of their turnover. Therefore, the rejection of these regimes, with the introduction of online cash desks and the obligatory labeling of goods, which allow you to clearly record the revenue of retail companies, seems logical. “Labeling should give the state a greater degree of control, which in turn leads to the thought of a return to a simplified and general taxation system,” says Alexander Borodin, director of Mila-Children's Shoes Wholesale.

However, for small retailers, the abolition of UTII and PSN can be a real disaster, according to the industry. At the same time, according to various estimates, the share of small business in Russia today accounts for about three quarters of the retail turnover of consumer goods.

In this regard, the “Support of Russia” public organization for the protection of small business interests expressed a negative attitude to the legislative initiative; Small Format Association; Boris Titov, the Presidential Commissioner for the Protection of Entrepreneurs' Rights, and the Russian Union of Tanners and Shoemakers (RSKO), who sent a letter to Anton Siluanov, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation.

“The abolition of preferential tax regimes for small businesses will lead to a massive reduction in small businesses, job losses in the regions, and production cuts due to reduced sales, since today the basis of the distribution chain of all light industry industries is small business,” the statement says. letter of RSKO. And leaving the small shoe retail market, according to representatives of the industry union, will entail “a reduction in people's access to light industry goods in small cities and towns of different regions, since federal retail chains are not represented there and the main channel for delivering goods is small business ".

The refusal from preferential tax regimes is also criticized by manufacturers, representatives of shoe brands, whose customers are, including small regional stores. So the head of the Russian division of the German brand of shoes Caprice Viktor Kunts believes that this measure will inevitably lead to unequal market conditions. “It seems to me that already changes in tax legislation carry significant burdens for small enterprises, and their exclusion from trade in labeled goods does not leave them the possibility of doing business in general. “I do not exclude the possibility that, instead of the good goals of transparency and equality in the market, the introduction of online cash desks and labeling will lead to the fact that most small enterprises that form the basis and cover the market geographically will be forced to leave the market,” he says.

Large networks are pushing "kids"

Interestingly, the head of the “National Shoe Union” Natalya Demidova supported the tightening of tax conditions for small retailers, arguing that the abolition of UTII and PSN will contribute to the fight against shadow business.

“We strive to build a civilized market,” Natalya Demidova responded to the Shoes Report request, “this measure is aimed at those companies that knowingly split up their business and avoid taxes. The result is unfair competition. Labeling will reveal such market participants, and they will be deprived of the opportunity to evade taxes. In any case, that’s how I understand it. Today it is difficult to say what percentage falls on small businesses in the shoe market, since about 35-40% of the market is in the shade. Marking will allow companies to be taken out of the shadows, such a result, in particular, we observed on the example of the fur market, and then it will be possible to determine which company intentionally avoids taxes and apply measures to them. ”

Large retail chains, led by retailers Zenden and Kari, also support the abolition of UTII and patents, in order to get rid of the so-called “shredders”. Retail players complain that some retailers use the UTII mode without any reason, so the abolition of this tax regime will automatically block the possibility of tax evasion for them.

Among other things, Andrei Pavlov, the head of Zenden Group, which owns the second largest shoe retail chain in Russia, believes that the meaning of introducing UTII has been lost since the introduction of online cash registers, since the online cash register shows the exact revenue of the enterprise, and calculate the tax from a certain average yield , as this happens with UTII is no longer necessary. According to Pavlov, the simplified taxation system (STS) regime, which is an alternative to UTII and patents, provides enough benefits for the successful running of the small shoe retail business.

“As far as I know, the amendments to the tax code are about the abolition of UTII and patents, while the simplified tax system (STS) remains. I must say that after the reform of online cash registers, the meaning of UTII has been lost. Since the online cash register shows the company's revenue, and UTII is calculated from the average value, he says. - A retail outlet cannot work without hired employees, and if the retail business has hired personnel, there should be an online cash desk. The tax rate on the simplified tax system for the taxable item “income” is 6% of turnover. In this case, the tax can be reduced, if half, 3% put on the payroll. The rate of 3% of turnover is a small load for retail, while guaranteed flow of funds to the state budget. There is also a “income - expense” mode, where the rate can be even lower, up to 1%. At the same time, UTII has its flip side; a frequent practice in shoe retail is that the staff works without registration, thus, the UTII regime for many becomes a loophole for avoiding paying taxes.

I am for the radical simplification of the tax code. Patents and UTII produce a huge number of shadow workers. With the abolition of UTII modes and patents, we take companies out of the shadows and solve the problem of tax revenues to the budget, while the burden on small businesses does not increase significantly. ”

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The consumer will suffer

Indeed, many small retail stores operate successfully under the simplified tax system. In particular, these can be small manufacturers and retailers selling shoes of their own production, such as Notmysize, a relatively young brand of handmade shoes, the products of which are sold in our own store in Moscow and in our own online store. According to the owner of NotMySize Leon Krayfish for the conduct of his business the simplified tax system "income minus expenses" with a rate of 6% is the most optimal.

However, for another type of individual entrepreneurs who, for example, sell imported footwear, purchasing it from third-party manufacturers, for owners of small retail stores with an area of ​​about 25 sq. meters, the need for accounting under the simplified tax system may prove to be quite a serious burden, including due to the need to carry out accounting.

“There are a lot of small retail on the market, owners of small boutiques on 20-25 sq. meters that use the patent system, and switch to the simplified tax system for many of them is impossible. Since the STS still requires a qualified accountant, and paying an accountant is a sufficient burden on such a small business, ”said Irina Lavrukhina, the owner of the Venice shoe store chain. - The patent system primarily works with sellers of Italian premium shoes and luxury brands. That is, the abolition of this regime will affect small boutiques with high-quality interesting Italian shoes, and the consumer will lose the opportunity to purchase it. The market will become scarce, lose variety. Indeed, in large networks, a fairly uniform product is presented.

I agree that there is a lot of gray business in our shoe market that needs to be fought. However, not in this way, it is impossible to cancel these preferential regimes in any case! It is necessary to tighten control over import import at customs and oblige, including microbusiness, to keep invoices for goods sold for three years and present them at the first request of the inspection authorities, as LLCs are required to do.

It's no secret that smuggling flourishes in the import of Italian goods, a lot of Italian shoes are imported into the country illegally, and Italy, by the way, is the only country that still does not accept the rules of mandatory labeling. It’s worth throwing your strength in the fight against illegal importation of goods, and not with small retail, which, with the abolition of UTII and PSN, will be forced to leave the market. ”

The Venice network has retail outlets in Moscow, the Moscow Region and in the regions in Lipetsk and Cheboksary. For most of the stores in the network, the USN mode is used. But regional points in Lipetsk and Cheboksary work on UTII. At the same time, as noted by Irina Lavrukhina, the company has many wholesale clients who work on the patent.

The owner of the Vera Victoria Vito shoe retail chain (4 store in Moscow) Sergey Vovdenko is sure that the abolition of preferential taxation will affect primarily regional retail, and many of his company's partners. “For small shops, administration under the standard taxation system will result in significant costs, some of them will close, unable to withstand the load. An increase in the tax burden is not a good thing for the economy at all; it will lead to a drop in real disposable income and a decrease in business activity. Many will be without work, without money, ”he says. In his opinion, the very statement of the question, when a certain part of the business is proposed to pay more to the treasury, is wrong, it should be like this: “let's reduce the tax burden to support business activity and introduce uniform rules for all participants in the process.”

According to Alexander Borodin, any new ban only leads to an increase in the level of corruption, which ultimately affects the value of the goods and does not contribute to increasing the filling of the treasury. “Hopes that it will be possible to establish control over the gray part are too optimistic,” he said. - Labeling will give more control and increase tax revenue to the budget due to the non-corrupt white part of the market, which accounts for about 10% of the turnover of shoes. The tax burden on the white business will increase, and not everyone will be able to withstand this press. Small business will lose ground - either shrink or turn gray. As a result, the share of large white businesses in Russian shoe retail will increase, which will inevitably begin to lead to a monopolization of the market, with all that it implies a low level of services and high prices. ”

From his point of view, leaving a small business will in no way contribute to an increase in tax revenues. Only tax revenues from large businesses will increase. However, increased revenues to the treasury can be completely leveled due to losses, which, alas, are inevitable.