Abstract:

The aim of this work is structuring categorical-conceptual apparatus of the of the tax losses phenomenon in the state budgetary resources, namely clarification of the concepts of “tax gap”, “tax expenditures”, “tax losses”, as well as the quantification of tax losses of the Consolidated budget of Ukraine. Methodology. Most modern scholars interpret the tax gaps as the amount of taxes that were not received with the budget as a result of shadow economy, tax evasion and the existence of tax debt. However, considerable asymmetry of the tax component of the state budgetary resources also arises due to budget losses of all levels as a result of providing tax exemptions. In modern economic literature such losses are considered as tax expenditures. We consider tax losses a generalizing concept including potential amounts of tax revenues that the state and local budgets have not received as a result of the existence of the phenomenon of “tax gaps” and “tax expenditures”, and the amount of losses of the state budgetary resources in terms of their tax component is equal to the sum total of tax exemptions provided, unsettled tax debt of economic agents and the loss of tax revenue due to the operation of shadow economy. The study is based on the analysis of tax losses of budgetary resources of Ukraine during the period of time from 2004 to 2014. The results of the study showed enormous losses of budgetary resources in Ukraine due to the imperfection of the tax system, spread of undisclosed operations, tax evasion, and inefficient fiscal policy implementation. The Consolidated budget loses the amounts of monetary funds, equal to an average of 53.30% of actual revenue over the period studied. Total tax losses of the state budgetary resources in 2014 are equivalent to the total actual expenditures of the Consolidated budget of Ukraine on social protection and social security, defense, public order, security and judicial authorities. Even taking into account the point of view of foreign economists that only 1/3 of the tax gap can be converted into actual tax revenues in case of implementing measures of legalization of the economy, additional budgetary resources of the Consolidated budget of Ukraine obtained due to the elimination of tax gaps would be significant. It was determined that the effective management of tax gaps and tax expenditures and, consequently, a decrease in tax losses of budgetary resources will ensure the correction of fiscal asymmetries and imbalances, will contribute to achieving fiscal equilibrium, will cause a synchronization of fiscal and monetary policy, and as a result, will reduce the need of Ukraine in loan financing and its debt bondage. Practical implications. Justification of the conclusion that the major reserves to increase the tax component of budgetary resources of the state with preventing tax losses lie exactly in the plane of fiscal policy optimization and legalization of assets of business entities, allows to develop areas of improvement tax forms of financing public spending. Value/originality. The data obtained are able to provide a better understanding of the causes of public finances imbalances in Ukraine and ways of their stabilization.

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