ANALYSIS OF SME’ TAX BURDEN IN THE MEAT PROCESSING INDUSTRY OF THE URAL REGION

Abstract

The tax burden for small and medium-sized businesses has always been a significant indicator of business activity state’s stimulation. It is especially important for the manufacturing sector, the development of which is strategically important in the context of the growing political crisis and global instability. In this paper, an assessment of the tax burden is carried out according to a sample of 61 companies - subjects of small and medium-sized businesses in the most developed territory of the country - the Ural Federal District. The sample includes only enterprises with a common tax system. This is necessary for the comparability of the authors' calculations with the official normative values of the tax burden established for the corresponding sub-sector. The main hypothesis of the study is that small and medium-sized businesses underestimate their tax burden by applying the general taxation system, and thus, the standard established by the Government of the Russian Federation is objectively overestimated, since it does not take into account the specifics of tax optimization of such companies. The study result is the identification of an absolute discrepancy between the actual values of the tax burden and the normative ones. Thus, 100 % of the sample companies have a lower level of it, while for medium-sized companies the gap is maximum and is 21 times. According to calculations, 60-70 % of the sample companies occupy the payroll fund in order to reduce the tax burden on insurance premiums. In conclusion, it is argued that it is necessary to review the state tax policy in relation to small and medium-sized businesses, namely, to create conditions for reducing tax time and in the conditions of the general taxation system.