"The Federal Tax Service is checking 'unemployed millionaires,' and Wildberries sellers are requesting a tax deferral."

      Overview of tax news from the past week

      Photo: Real Time

      The past tax week was marked by a number of significant news items. It became known that checks on the income of "unemployed millionaires" have intensified, while large businesses complained about a multiple increase in tax reassessments. At the same time, against the backdrop of drone attacks on Wildberries warehouses, the business community appealed to the authorities for a deferral of tax payments. More details can be found in the weekly overview from "Real Time."

      The Federal Tax Service began checking the income of "unemployed millionaires"

      The Federal Tax Service (FTS) has started sending letters to citizens demanding confirmation of the origin of funds used to purchase cars, apartments, and other expensive assets. This situation was highlighted by RBC. The inspection tracks property acquisitions through state registries. If a person does not have officially confirmed income for such purchases, the FTS requests an explanation of the sources of funds under the threat of an audit, tax reassessment, fines, and penalties.

      According to experts, the agency is working selectively but is forming a practice for mass claims in cases of significant discrepancies between income and expenses. The threshold of significance depends on the region; in Moscow, the amounts are several times higher than in other regions of Russia. At the same time, large debts carry the risk of criminal liability.

      In February, the FTS reported on the results of its work for the past year: nearly 64,000 unemployed Muscovites were forced to explain the origin of their money. They were reassessed 9 billion rubles in taxes and insurance contributions. Lawyers continue to assert that in reality, proving the legality of savings from previous years is difficult. Russian legislation does not impose an obligation on citizens to keep accounting records of personal finances.

      Multiple growth in tax audits and reassessments

      Tax officials have significantly increased the number of field audits of large companies, said Alexander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), in an interview with Vedomosti. According to him, businesses are facing serious reassessments, the amounts of which for certain organizations are comparable to their annual revenue and profit.

      Experts confirm that control from the FTS has indeed become stricter. The amount of reassessments following one audit can be measured in billions of rubles. The inspection has the right to check the three preceding years, and in cases of suspected artificial creation of conditions for benefits, Article 54.1 of the Tax Code applies, with an additional fine of 40%. The RSPP notes that large businesses most often receive reassessments due to the combination or duplication of preferential regimes.

      The main complaints from importers are related to the recalculation of the customs value of goods, their reclassification to a higher duty rate, and checks on the origin of products. Tax authorities cross-check counterparty data, analyze VAT chains, and request primary documentation. At the same time, according to the FTS, in the first quarter, revenues from businesses increased by almost a third — the treasury received a record 1 trillion rubles in corporate profit taxes.

      Businesses requested a tax deferral until the end of the year due to attacks on Wildberries warehouses

      Amid this, another news item stands out this week. According to Izvestia, the business association "Opora Rossii" sent a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin requesting to introduce tax holidays for sellers on the marketplace affected by drone attacks, at least until the end of the year. The initiative was discussed on July 30 at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and is being worked on by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economic Development, FTS, and the Central Bank.

      Such a request from businesses did not arise from nowhere. Since July 18, more than a dozen logistics centers and warehouses of Wildberries in several regions of Russia have been damaged and burned due to drone attacks. This includes Udmurtia, Samara, Vladimir, and Tambov regions, the Moscow region, Krasnodar, and Stavropol territories. As a result, sellers on the marketplace are suffering huge losses due to damage to their goods and products in warehouses.

      Business representatives are asking to consider the possibility of deferring federal and regional taxes and insurance contributions, as well as exemption from fines for late reporting.

      A mechanism for providing tax deferrals exists; however, Alexander Kalinin, president of "Opora Rossii," notes its extreme bureaucratization — decisions take months. For businesses facing physical destruction of goods and infrastructure, such assistance risks being too late. The attacks have disrupted supply chains and created risks of sellers failing to meet current tax obligations.

      Regions outpaced Moscow in the growth rate of self-employed individuals

      Over the year, the number of professional income tax (PIT) payers in Russia has increased by more than 3 million people, reaching 16.8 million. The growth rates in second-tier regions — Yaroslavl, Arkhangelsk, and Kostroma regions — exceeded the capital's figures almost twofold, at about 31% compared to 16.1% in Moscow.

      The top 10 regions account for 48.6% of all PIT payers (8.21 million people). In absolute numbers, Moscow leads (2.4 million), followed by the Moscow region (1.2 million) and St. Petersburg (1.1 million). In Tatarstan, as of June 30, there were 485.1 thousand self-employed individuals, although the republic is not among the top 5 regions for growth in this indicator.

      Regional dynamics (top 5 by growth):

      Yaroslavl region — +31.8%;

      Arkhangelsk region — +31.1%;

      Khabarovsk territory — +29.5%;

      Leningrad region;

      Kostroma region.

      Labor market experts note that the explosive growth in regions is not only related to the replacement of traditional labor relations but also to the desire of Russians to earn additional income against the backdrop of high inflation and reduced purchasing power of salaries. Additionally, taxi and delivery services that previously generated demand for PIT in the capital have massively entered the regions.

      Zulfat Shafigullin