Tax avoidance, which was discovered, entails extremely unpleasant consequences for the perpetrator. Moreover, the larger the unpaid amounts, the stricter the liability. In this case, penalties may be imposed, and administrative and criminal penalties may be applied to individuals who made decisions to violate tax laws.

Types of liability for tax evasion

Tax evasion may be considered a tax, administrative or criminal offense. Accordingly, sanctions for committing such an act are prescribed in three legislative acts: the Tax and Criminal Codes and the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses.

Prosecution is possible in parallel according to the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation or the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. For example, if a company is caught evading taxes, it will be fined, but officials of that company may face criminal prosecution if their actions are suspected of being criminal.

Who is held accountable under tax law

Taxpayers are punished for tax evasion. And they can be:

• legal entity;
• individual entrepreneurs;
• natural person.

Punishments for individuals and organizations do not differ in severity. It all depends on the amount of non-payment to the budget.

In order for a person to be punished for tax evasion, this fact must be officially established, which means that the tax authority must make an appropriate decision. And only after such a decision comes into force can sanctions be applied to the offender.

Persons who may be held accountable under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

If tax crimes are committed by taxpayers, which include both legal entities and individuals, then only individuals are brought to administrative and criminal liability for tax evasion.

But the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has two articles - 198 and 199, according to which the crime consists of tax evasion. Only in the first case is the individual evading, and in the second is the organization. So, if an individual evaded paying tax, then there is a demand from him. And in an organization, such decisions are also made by people who have the appropriate authority, and they are punished.

To be held criminally liable for tax crimes, an individual does not need to be an adult; it is enough to be 16 years old. The same framework is established in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. This is relevant for tax offenses, because according to the provisions of Art. 27 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a minor can engage in entrepreneurial activity from the age of 16 if he is declared legally competent.

Sanctions for tax evasion

Tax Code of the Russian Federation

Tax sanctions are established in the form of fines. Such punishment increases budget revenues, and this is important for the state. If the taxpayer evaded paying taxes on a large scale, he also faces criminal liability. But this does not mean that he is exempt from transferring the necessary funds to the budget and paying a fine.

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation has two articles that deal with tax evasion:

• The amount of the fine for failure to submit a declaration (Article 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) is equal to 5% of the amount that had to be paid to the budget as tax. There is a limitation: the fine cannot be less than 1,000 rubles. and more than 30% of the unpaid tax.
• If a taxpayer has underestimated the tax base or incorrectly calculated the amount of tax (Article 122 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), he will be charged a fine of 20% of the unpaid amount. If this was done intentionally, the fine will increase to 40%.

Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses

Don't know your rights?

The Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for liability only for late filing of a declaration. But only an official can be punished. According to Art. 15.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, a fine of 300-500 rubles is imposed on him.

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Tax evasion in criminal law means failure to file a return or the inclusion of knowingly false information in a return. For such a crime, individual taxpayers and individuals - authorized employees of organizations bear different responsibilities.

Moreover, the crime of tax evasion arises only if the non-payment was recorded in a large and especially large amount.

The sanctions themselves look like this:

• If tax evasion is committed by an individual, and non-payment to the budget is qualified as committed on a large scale, the individual may be fined up to 300,000 rubles. or imprisonment for up to 1 year.
• In case of failure to pay on an especially large scale, the maximum fine increases to 500,000 rubles, and the term of imprisonment increases to 3 years.
• If tax evasion is committed by an organization on a large scale, the responsible person may be fined up to 300,000 rubles. The term of imprisonment in this case can be up to 2 years. Plus, the guilty person may be prohibited from holding certain positions or conducting certain activities.
• In case of non-payment of taxes on an especially large scale or by a group of persons in conspiracy, the fine increases to 500,000 rubles, and the term of imprisonment - up to 3 years.

The court decides what sanctions to apply. In this case, the amount of damage caused to the budget, the presence of mitigating or aggravating circumstances and the degree of guilt of the accused play a role.

Limitation periods

In the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, when considering the possibility of applying punishment, two types of statute of limitations are used:

• to bring to justice (Article 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• to collect fines (Article 115 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Prosecution for tax evasion can only be carried out within 3 years after the end of the tax period in which the offense was committed. It turns out that the audit, during which the fact of an offense is established, can only cover the last 3 years.

However, the tax office has a way to suspend the statute of limitations. It can be used if there is evidence that the taxpayer has evaded paying taxes, and the statute of limitations is coming to an end. When a taxpayer is stalling for time and actively resists an audit, the tax office can simply draw up a report (form according to KND 1160074, approved by order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated May 8, 2015 No. ММВ-7-2/189@) and thereby suspend the running of the statute of limitations.

As soon as the tax inspectorate has made a decision to hold the offender accountable for tax evasion, the statute of limitations for collecting fines begins to count. Initially, the taxpayer is sent a demand to pay a fine, which specifies the deadline for its execution.

If the taxpayer does not voluntarily comply with the requirement, the tax service has 2 options:

• within 2 months, independently decide to collect a fine;
• within six months, apply to the court to collect a fine.

Both of these periods begin to run from the moment the deadline set in the request for payment of the fine expires.

Guilt and circumstances affecting the severity of sanctions

Tax evasion, like other types of tax offenses, can be committed intentionally or through negligence. The difference is that in the first case the person realized that he was acting illegally, and in the second case the offender did not understand that he was breaking the law, although he should have.

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation lists the circumstances on the basis of which the guilt of the offender can be excluded, namely:

• tax evasion occurred due to a natural disaster or emergency;
• an individual committed tax evasion due to his painful condition;
• the taxpayer followed the explanations, acted on instructions from tax or other competent authorities, which ultimately led to tax evasion.

If at least one of the listed circumstances is present, the taxpayer cannot be held accountable.

But if the taxpayer was nevertheless brought to justice, the question of imposing punishment still remains. And here mitigating and aggravating circumstances may have an impact. For those who committed actions that led to tax evasion due to difficult personal circumstances, under threat or due to coercion, it is possible to reduce the fine by at least 2 times. But for those persons who have committed a similar offense again, the fine can be increased by 100%.

When cases of tax evasion are revealed, the state is interested not only in punishing the offender, but also in returning the underpaid amounts to the budget. In addition, the violator is required to pay fines arising from non-payment of taxes, which also increases the flow of revenue to the budget.

On the other hand, the punishment should be such as to prevent the offender from repeatedly evading taxes, so taxpayers who conceal income in large and especially large amounts may even be imprisoned for 3 years.

Citizens of the Russian Federation, according to the legislation of the country, are required to contribute taxes to the budget. Failure to comply with such norms, regardless of the reason, entails a penalty, which is determined in different amounts.

There are significant differences between the taxation of citizens of a country and organizations. Basically, individuals are concerned with contributions on their existing property and profits.

Personal income tax (NDFL) is paid by the employer.

Mandatory monetary contributions to the treasury of the powers include the following:

• to the ground;
• transport;
• on property.

Every resident of the country who officially owns real estate is required to pay a property fee. To do this, he applies to the Federal Tax Service (FTS) and a personal account is registered for him. An account is also opened to which he will transfer finances. The person is notified in writing by sending information by mail to the place of registration.

If a person does not contact government authorities, he will not be informed about the assessment of taxes.

NOTE! Failure to report to the Federal Tax Service does not eliminate mandatory contributions and penalties.

Individual entrepreneurs, LLCs and legal entities make the following contributions:

• Personal income tax for each employee;
• from all receipts;
• for added value;
• for transport;
• land;
• insurance premiums.

Penalties for evading mandatory payments to the state will not increase this year, however, control by the civil service will remain strict.

The legislative framework

The law of the Russian Federation provides for the payment of contributions to the state by all persons, regardless of the size of their income. Refusal to comply with or ignorance of the relevant legal norms regulated by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation leads to monetary sanctions or even imprisonment. The Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provide for various measures of influence depending on the severity of the crime.

The legal liability of persons of any type of activity differs significantly from each other. This depends on the different amounts of contributions they make.

The Tax Code defines the following concepts of “tax evasion”:

• refusal to pay the amount in full;
• submitting the report later than the agreed date;
• partial payment;
• erroneous payment calculation (independent);
• reduction in base rates.

The latter type applies to all citizens.

Types of punishment

All citizens of the country who are over 16 years old can be held accountable. There are these types:

• administrative - in this case, the person will be forced to repay the debt and the amount of the fine imposed for non-payment of taxes;
• criminal - used extremely rarely, provides for imprisonment for systematic evasion of the law and for refusal to transfer finances in large quantities;
• tax - interest and penalties are charged.

The types of liability for tax evasion depend on the type of violation and who committed it.

ATTENTION! Only one penalty can be imposed.

Administrative

Only officials are involved in this type of control. Individual entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens are not subject to offenses under the Code of Administrative Offences.

Punishments for non-payment of taxes according to the Administrative Code are imposed for the following offenses:

• failure to meet reporting deadlines - a warning or fines for non-payment of taxes are provided from 300 to 500 rubles (Article of the Code of Administrative Offenses);
• violation of accounting - monetary sanctions in the amount of 5–10,000 rubles. If repeated - from 10 to 20 thousand rubles;
• untimely registration - 10 days are allocated by law after registration of the organization. In this case, you will need to compensate the penalty from 500 to 1000 rubles.

Refusal to provide the necessary documents to an employee of the Federal Tax Service will cost the violator from 500 to 1000 rubles.

We must remember! Before filing claims, a protocol of violations must be drawn up.

Tax obligations

The legal framework includes such offenses:

• global distortion of the shown amounts of income and expenses (Article of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) - a fine of 10 to 30 thousand rubles is provided;
• lack of explanations for personal income tax and failure to make deductions at the agreed time - the amount of the fine for non-payment of such taxes is 20% of all accruals (Article of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• partial payment due to a decrease in the tax base;
• activities of an individual entrepreneur or organization without registration with the Federal Tax Service - a fine for non-payment of taxes for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities in this case is imposed in the amount of 10% of income for the unaccounted period, but not less than 40 thousand rubles;
• failure to submit a declaration - a penalty of 5% of the amount of income is imposed;

Refusal to provide documents to the tax service is punishable by sanctions - 20% of the tax amount.

Criminal penalty

According to the law, they can be subject to the strictest sanctions for systematic violations.

Persons who were authorized to transfer finances for the payer and did not perform such actions are involved.

Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

This article states that in the case of huge debt, the fine for non-payment of such taxes by a legal entity is 100-300 thousand or restriction of freedom for a period of up to 12 months.

Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Failure to make a contribution to the budget for profit or VAT in accordance with this article applies to chief accountants and directors of enterprises. If the responsibilities of ordinary personnel include accounting, then they will also be responsible before the law.

Liability of individuals

All citizens must comply with regulations and bills regarding the payment of contributions. If it is violated, the state will hold them accountable. It varies depending on the type of tax:

• for profit - employers transfer funds for employed citizens. If the income for the year does not exceed 512,000 rubles, then the rate is 13%. For high incomes - 23%. This includes fines for non-payment of taxes for renting out an apartment, selling a car or real estate. Before April 1, it is annually necessary to submit a declaration to government services;
• punishment for non-payment of property tax for individuals, which must be paid before the beginning of December next year, consists of penalties (the amount of debt is multiplied by the number of days) and penalties (20% of the debt);
• the fine for non-payment of transport tax by an individual is a fine, which is proportional to the number of overdue days, and property and transport are also seized;
• Responsibility for non-payment of land tax by an individual depends on the region of the country. Every day after delay, a penalty and a fine of 20-40% of the debt amount starts.

The state can collect all fines and penalties due for non-payment of any taxes only through the court.

Reasons for holding legal entities accountable

Who is responsible before the law in organizations is indicated in internal documentation. An employee who performed duties for a colleague who is on vacation will be held fully accountable before the law.

There are the following collection methods:

• fines;
• forced labor for up to 5 years;
• arrest;
• restriction of freedom up to 6 years;
• a fine for non-payment of personal income tax in the amount of 20% of the debt;
• deprivation of the opportunity to work in a leadership position.

More stringent measures apply to a group of people than to an individual.

Statute of limitations for tax crimes

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation specifies the period during which government services can withhold the necessary contributions. This period is three years. After this time, if the money has not been paid and measures to withhold it have not been taken, then the citizen or organization is released from reimbursement.

Fines for non-payment of taxes by citizens or legal entities in 2020 remain in force. To avoid them, it is necessary to timely contribute funds to the state budget.

Responsibility for non-payment of taxes is provided for by tax, administrative and criminal law. And if everything is more or less clear with administrative sanctions and measures of tax liability, then it is much less common to encounter criminal prosecution for non-payment of legally accrued taxes. We will talk about criminal liability for tax evasion in this article.

Responsibility for non-payment of taxes (both by individuals and other taxpayers)

In accordance with current legislation, both individuals and legal entities must pay established taxes. If an authorized person for any reason evades paying tax (in whole or in part), he may be brought to tax, administrative and even criminal liability.

It should be noted that, within the framework of criminal law, liability for non-payment of taxes can only occur for individuals. person (official of the organization), while administrative and tax liability extends to officials, individuals, and legal entities.

As for physical persons, then if such an offense was committed by them for the first time, it cannot entail criminal liability if the offender paid the full amount of the underpayment. In addition, criminal liability can only arise if the act committed by a citizen is large or especially large in size. For minor offenses relating to non-payment of taxes, liability arises only under administrative or tax law.

What does the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation say about non-payment of taxes?

According to Art. 198-199 of the Criminal Code, we can talk about the occurrence of criminal liability in cases where the actions committed by a person were aimed at evading obligations to pay taxes/duties (both in full and in part), if the amount of underpayment exceeds 10% of the total tax amount/ fee payable.

Don't know your rights?

To assign punishment physical. to a person in case of tax evasion, the amount of the underpaid amount on a large scale must exceed 10% of the total amount of accrued tax for the past 3 years and amount to more than 600 thousand rubles. (or 1.8 million rubles, regardless of the period and proportions).

A particularly large amount is considered to be an amount of at least 20% of the total amount of accrued tax for the previous 3 years and amounting to at least 3 million rubles (or an amount exceeding 9 million rubles, regardless of the proportions and period).

If we talk about the amounts of taxes unpaid by legal entities. persons, then authorized officials are found guilty of committing a crime (large-scale tax evasion) when the amount of underpayment exceeds 10% of the total tax accrued to the organization for 3 financial years and amounts to more than 2 million rubles. (or more than 6 million rubles, regardless of the proportion and period).

In this case, the amount of unpaid tax is considered especially large if it exceeds 20% of the total tax accrued for the 3 previous financial years and amounts to at least 10 million rubles. Also considered particularly large is underpaid tax in the amount of at least 30 million rubles, regardless of the period and proportions.

Criminal prosecution of individuals

Now let's talk in more detail about the criminal liability for tax evasion individuals and individual entrepreneurs. Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following types of punishments for individuals. persons and individual entrepreneurs:

• fine (100-300 thousand rubles or in the amount of salary (other income) for 1 or 2 years);
• arrest (from 4 to 6 months);
• imprisonment (up to 1 year).

Such types of punishment are possible in case of a large amount of tax arrears, but if we are talking about a particularly large one, then punishment is possible in the form of:

• a fine of 200-500 thousand rubles or in the amount of salary (other income) for a period of 1.5 to 3 years;
• imprisonment for up to 3 years.

Fines and penalties for tax evasion

In administrative and tax law, punishment is expressed in the form of a fine for non-payment of taxes. The amount of the fine is determined depending on the specific actions committed by the offender and taking into account the circumstances under which such actions were committed.

The legislation also allows for the accrual of penalties for non-payment of taxes on the amount of tax that was payable but was not paid within the specified period. The amount of the penalty is determined based on the current refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

1. What types of taxes are paid by legal entities and individuals?
2. The concept of tax evasion and responsibility
3. Liability for non-payment
4. Is criminal liability possible?

What types of taxes are paid by legal entities and individuals?

Taxation of individuals differs from payment of taxes by legal entities. Typically, individuals pay property and income taxes. Personal income tax (personal income tax) is paid by the employer, but this fee for renting out the premises must be paid by the landlord. Thus, in some cases, citizens can pay personal income tax. Other mandatory taxes include:

• transport;
• land;
• property.

Every owner of real estate or other property must pay taxes on that property. After an application from the Federal Tax Service (Federal Tax Service), each citizen is assigned a personal account and an account to which payments must be received monthly. Notifications of tax assessments are sent to the post office at your place of registration. If a citizen does not apply to the tax office with the appropriate application, no letters will be received, but he is not exempt from paying contributions.

You can find out about the accrual of debt to the Federal Tax Service in your personal account on the website of this institution.

As for individual entrepreneurs, the tax burden on them is greater. Every employer is required to pay income tax for each worker, including himself. Among the main taxes paid by LLCs, individual entrepreneurs and legal entities are:

• income tax;
Depending on the taxation system, the amount of such payment may vary. Many small individual entrepreneurs and LLCs choose the simplified taxation system (STS), which is provided for by the law “On the development of small and medium-sized businesses.”
• transport and land tax(paid if the business has land or vehicles);
• insurance premiums;
• VAT and personal income tax for each employee of the enterprise, including the owner.

for non-payment of taxes in 2018 will not rise, but control of the income of legal entities and individuals by the National Assembly will become significantly stricter. This is due to the need to register all retail outlets and the purchase of cash registers by private entrepreneurs.

Concept of tax evasion and responsibility

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides the basic definition of the term “tax evasion,” which includes: 1. Payments are not made in full. 2. Refusal to make payment in full. 3. Do-it-yourself tax calculations that lead to debt. 4. Submitting reports later than scheduled. 5. Reducing basic taxes. By basic we mean those taxes that are imposed on all citizens. These include the tax rate on profit, including the amount from renting out an apartment by an individual.

Liability for non-payment

Each tax provides for certain sanctions against the taxpayer. Avoiding transferring a percentage of profit can lead to unpleasant consequences:

fines;

fines; and criminal penalties;

• recovery in court. of the tax amount, 180 days after non-payment - 30%, and from 181 every month an amount of 10% of the debt will be charged;
• fine in the amount of 20% from debt.

If the tax office receives evidence of deliberate non-payment, a fine of 40% will be charged on the amount of debt.

2. Tax on renting out an apartment. Responsibility: All citizens who rent out an apartment are required to register agreements for the transfer of the apartment for temporary use. According to this agreement, landlords are required to pay personal income tax to the treasury in the amount of 13%. If necessary, a citizen can request a tax deduction for these contributions. 3. Transport tax. Property tax for individuals also includes transport tax. These contributions are paid monthly upon sending a letter from the tax office. The taxpayer has 1 year from the date of receipt of the notification to transfer funds. Boats, sea and river vessels, cargo transport, passenger vehicles, agricultural equipment and vehicles that are wanted are subject to taxation. Responsibility: a penalty, which is proportional to the number of overdue days, filing a claim in court to seize property and transport. 4. Land tax. This tax does not have a fixed rate and varies depending on the region of the country. For each day after delay, a penalty is charged, and a fine of 20 to 40% of the tax amount is withdrawn.

If the taxpayer received a notice of the need to pay the land tax, but did not transfer the money to the tax office, the VNS can count these actions as intentional evasion. Thus, the tax service can sue a citizen, but the Tax Service can collect the debt only after a judge’s decision.

All these types of liability apply to both legal entities and individuals. A scheme that provides for the closure of a business after 3 years from its establishment and the opening of a new one is also punishable by law and provides for liability.

Is criminal liability possible?

The accrual of penalties and fines relates to administrative liability, which does not cause significant damage to a person or company. At the same time, tax evasion is punishable by law, namely Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This responsibility comes after the Federal Tax Service has assessed the amount of debt in excess of 600 thousand rubles and in especially large amounts - in excess of 3 million rubles. The legislation provides for fines for evading such taxes, as well as imprisonment from several months to three years. If law enforcement agencies discover other violations of the law by a citizen or company, the term of imprisonment may increase significantly up to 7-10 years. If criminal liability occurs for the second or third time, but the previous time the court decided to pay a fine, then the subsequent court may impose imprisonment.

If a person violates the tax law for the first time and the matter comes to trial, it can be closed without trial if the entire debt is paid off. Such a solution to the situation is only possible if the citizen has not been prosecuted before and is ready to repay the debt.

The following mitigating circumstances are also taken into account in the trial:

• illness of the taxpayer;
• unusual situations that led to the emergence of debt;
• expiration of the statute of limitations on debt;
• unintentional non-payment (lack of payment warning).

It is worth noting that the Federal Tax Service rather quickly transfers cases of tax evasion, so the statute of limitations for debt expires in rare cases. From the date of accrual of the fine, the statute of limitations is 3 years.

Individuals and legal entities do not always understand what responsibility they will bear for non-payment of taxes in case of violation of the current legislation providing for the fulfillment of obligations to the budget. Let's look at this question in detail.

What does the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation say?

Individuals and organizations must fulfill their tax obligations on time and in full. All types of possible liability are established by the Tax and Criminal Codes, and also partly by the Code of Administrative Violations.

Thus, tax liability presupposes the need to pay not only the missing amount of tax, but also a fine for non-payment of taxes, as well as accrued penalties.

If a person is brought to criminal liability, then he not only pays arrears and large fines, but can also be taken into custody. Moreover, arrest does not mean that the defendant will not pay the existing debt.

Types of liability

The Tax and Criminal Codes provide penalties for non-payment of taxes of various types. In general, the following types of liability may be applied to the violator:

The Tax Code provides that if a person is held accountable for not paying tax to the treasury, he must still repay the existing debt in full. Moreover: even criminal liability for tax evasion is not a basis for exemption from debts on mandatory payments.

Who is responsible

If there are arrears, both individuals and legal entities may be held liable. But the forms and amounts of punishment for these categories are different.

An analysis of Article 9 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation allows us to list the categories of people who can be held accountable. Thus, responsibility for non-payment of taxes by an individual lies with:

• Russian citizens who do not conduct their own business activities;
• Foreigners;
• stateless persons;
• private entrepreneurs (IP).

When legal entities do not pay taxes, the following may be held liable:

• directors;
• founders of such organizations;
• chief accountant;
• company officials.

We will look at liability for non-payment of taxes by a legal entity in 2017 in more detail below.

When they can attract: statute of limitations for collection

Regardless of the status of the person who has not paid the tax, the Tax Service can hold him accountable only within 3 years (clause 1 of Article 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). After this, officials will not be able to collect the debt to the budget from the violator.

Please note that the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes not only punishment for non-payment of taxes by individual entrepreneurs, but also penalties for failure to submit a return on time. The amount depends on the period of delay (clause 1 of Article 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• 5% of the unpaid amount for each month;
• up to 30% of the non-payment amount (minimum value - 1000 rubles).

Penalties for individuals

To calculate the amount of penalties for unpaid tax, the following formula is used (Article 75 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

When more than six months have passed since the delay, and the amount of untransferred tax exceeds 3,000 rubles, the inspectorate will begin to collect all debts forcibly (Article 48 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If the tax office sues for non-payment of tax, then in addition to the debt that has arisen, it will require payment of penalties for the entire period of delay, as well as fines.

According to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Tax Service officials can collect all these debts from individuals only after receiving a court decision.

Criminal liability of individuals

It is important to understand that criminal liability may also arise for non-payment of taxes by an individual. It becomes relevant in the case of large or especially large debts. The law provides for the following possible forms of liability (Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation):

• fines from 100,000 to 500,000 rubles;
• arrest (can last up to six months);
• forced labor (from 1 to 3 years);
• restriction of freedom (the period can reach 3 years depending on the size of the debt).

According to the law, criminal liability for non-payment of taxes by an individual entrepreneur or an ordinary individual may not be applied at all if such an act is committed for the first time. In addition, the culprit must pay off all debts: not only the amount of tax itself, but also subsequently accrued penalties and fines.

All these nuances make it possible to clearly understand when criminal liability arises for tax evasion. Of course, its legal basis can only be a court verdict.