The taxes of the most important forms of public revenue for the States; Where her theory has great importance among the theories used in public finance, as it is distinguished by its important role in contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the financial policy; Therefore, many concepts and definitions related to taxes appeared, and they are defined as mandatory obligations set by states, and individuals are obligated to pay their value without charge.
To assist countries in achieving societal goals, and among other definitions, it is a contribution of monetary or in-kind nature, provided by individuals to the countries in which they live, whether they obtain benefit from public services or not, and states impose these taxes due to their association with economic, political and financial goals.
The evolution of taxes in the economy
Taxes witnessed development in economic thought in conjunction with the emergence of many economic intellectual stages. The following information about the most important of them:
Taxes in physiocratic economic thought: It is a field of thought that appeared in the eighteenth century AD in France, and thinkers of this economy paid attention to unified taxes imposed on agricultural lands. As it is the only source of wealth creation, and the owners of these lands are the community group that produces net income; So there is no point in taxing the owners of other classes.
Taxes in classical economic thought: This thought concerned the need to achieve a balance between estimates of public revenues and public expenditures. As the best financial management depends on having a balance in the budget, avoiding any risk of deficit in it, and in this intellectual stage a set of tax ideas appeared among several economic thinkers, the most important of whom are:
∆. Taxes for Adam Smith; Where he was keen to define four tax bases, which included collection, adequate collection, certainty, and fairness, and Smith pointed to the necessity of the need for taxes; Because it is one of the main means of financing for countries.
∆. Taxes at David Ricardo; As he saw that the industrial, agricultural, and commercial sectors should stay away from state interference, but when countries want to face their expenditures, they must deduct the value of these taxes, as Ricardo considers them a type of rent for real estate that affects the real estate price, and does not affect the price Consumer.
Types of taxes
There are several types of taxes, each of which has a special field in it, and the most important of these types are:
Taxes on persons: It is one of the oldest types of taxes known since the Middle Ages. It was imposed on all individuals and is characterized by the ease of calculating, collecting, and imposing it.
Taxes on money: These are imposed on all the money of an individual and are characterized by fairness and abundance, but it is not possible to count all individuals ’property. Which leads to encouraging them to evade taxes.
Direct and indirect taxes: These are common and widespread taxes in the modern era, but it is difficult to differentiate them. Therefore, a set of criteria is used to compare these taxes, namely:
∆. The stability of the taxable service or product: They are all the items on which taxes are imposed. If they are fixed continuously, they are considered direct taxes, and if they are not fixed then they are considered indirect taxes.
∆. Collection criterion: It is based on the nature of the administrative body that collects taxes or the means used to collect them, and this standard differs between countries of the world.
∆. Transfer of the burden of taxation: the distinction between indirect and direct taxes depending on the individuals who bear them; Where the tax is considered direct when it is borne by the last taxpayer, while the tax is classified as indirect if it is transferred from the taxpayer to another person.
income taxes posed by states on individuals who live in their societies, and are considered important taxes; Therefore, many different concepts and definitions appeared to her between thinkers and writers, and these taxes include two types:
∆. General Income Tax: It is the dependence of all income of a person on one tax only, regardless of the individual’s multiple sources of income.
∆. Income branch tax, also known as specific tax; That is, the tax is imposed according to the type of income of the individual, and that depends on the division of the main sources of income; Where there is income resulting from work and it follows the wage tax, and there is income resulting from the capital and it follows the transferred money tax.
Basic rules for taxation
The application of taxes depends on a set of basic rules that are foundations that states adhere to, and these rules seek to promote harmony between the interests of the financiers and the public treasury, and what follows information about the most important of these rules:
The equality rule: is considering tax justice an important principle of an effective tax system. Where the tax legislature seeks to apply this justice during the distribution of burdens among tax owners; As this concept developed with the development of societies, justice for traditionalists means that it is the contribution of all members of society to bear the expenses of the state, according to the ability of the relative cost of each of them, meaning that their contribution is proportional to their income.
The certainty rule: it is a rule indicating a good tax that is clearly defined. Meaning that it is an explicit and specific tax, the method and date of its collection are known, and its price is clear and specific, and this rule indicates the existence of prior knowledge of the individual taxpayer from the state.
The constancy rule: that the tax revenue does not change as a result of economic changes. Specifically, in a period of economic depression, but tax revenues often increase when production and public incomes increase.
The flexibility rule: This is that the change in income in terms of spatial and temporal terms is accompanied by a change in the proceeds of taxes. That is, it is the flexible taxes that are increasing in value. Because of its high rates, with no shrinkage in its tax base, and then the appearance of a decrease in its yield.
