Initiation of criminal cases on tax crimes: problems and possible solutions

Abstract

Introduction. Tax crimes, the essence of which lies in the failure of taxpayers to fulfill their obligations and pay taxes in the amounts stipulated by the legislator, are most often detected within the framework of the activities of tax authorities, which reflects the possibility of initiating this category of criminal cases at the present stage solely on the basis of materials of a tax authority. At the same time, the guarantees contained in the tax legislation to protect a conscientious taxpayer from unfounded claims of tax authorities are successfully used by unscrupulous taxpayers who deliberately evade their duties, since they provide an opportunity to actquickly to conceal the traces of criminal activity. Not all the issues related to the receipt by tax authorities of information on the illegal activities of business participants, fixation of detected traces of a crime and sending the obtained results to the investigating authorities, have been resolved in the legislation, therefore, the achievement by tax service of the necessary results when conducting tax control also needs to be supported by legal mechanisms for the effective detection of tax crimes, their documentation and transfer to the investigating authorities for the initiation of criminal prosecution of the perpetrators. The aim of the study is the need to determine the possibility of expanding the number of reasons for initiating criminal cases on tax crimesbased on the analysis of the problems of implementing the modern legislative model for initiating criminal cases and the mechanism for conducting joint inspections with law enforcement agencies. Methods. In the course of the study, general scientific and particular scientific research methods were used: formal-logical methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization, hypotheses), comparative-legal, system structural research methods, statistical analysis method, observation, questioning, interviewing, content analysis of documents. Results. When studying the judicial practice and statistical reporting of the Federal Tax Service of Russia, it has been concluded that it is possible for taxpayers who are aware in advance of the identified risks of tax violations, as well as the amounts and circumstances of alleged evasion, to hide the traces of a crime, withdraw property or transfer business before a criminal case is initiated. Contradictions have been identified between the main tasks of the internal affairs bodies and their powers during the inspection and after its completion. The authors have made proposals regarding the possibility of initiating criminal prosecution by the internal affairs body in the event of tax evasion on an especially large scale, presence of facts of property withdrawal or business transfer after the taxpayer is handed a tax audit report and receives all the necessary documents from the tax authority.