Subjects of the fulfillment of the constitutional obligation to pay taxes and fees
Authors: Hretsa S.M. , Hretsa Ya.V. 
Published: December 2024

It is indicated that in the context of the ongoing armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, along with external aid, the consolidation of the country’s internal potential - both human, material, technical and financial - is critically important. This is necessary to ensure the defense capability of the state and achieve victory. In these conditions, effective filling of budgets of all levels through the system of taxes and fees becomes of primary importance. Timely and full fulfillment of tax obligations by citizens provides the state with the necessary financial resources. The importance of this obligation is emphasized by its consolidation at the level of the Basic Law of the state. However, the current wording of Article 76 of the Constitution of Ukraine has certain shortcomings, in particular regarding the regulation of the obligation to submit tax declarations and the definition of the circle of persons to whom this requirement applies.
The article is devoted to the determination of the subject composition of the fulfillment of the constitutional obligation to pay taxes and fees. It was emphasized that to fulfill the tax obligation properly, the state should create a normative legal mechanism to determine the procedure for paying taxes and their amount. The norm of Art. 67 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which establishes the corresponding duty, is contained in the section devoted to the rights and duties of a person and a citizen. At the same time, the tax duty extends to a broader range of subjects. It is concluded that the tax obligation for all other taxpayers, in particular legal entities and their structural subdivisions, is established not at the level of the Constitution of Ukraine but at the level of the law, namely the Tax Code of Ukraine, which, in turn, does not deprive it of its significance and imperativeness implementation. An analysis of the norm of Part 2 of Article 67 of the Constitution of Ukraine was carried out, and it was concluded that its content establishes the obligation to declare income for all citizens. The imperfection of the specified legal norm is emphasized since, on the one hand, when interpreted literally, it establishes the obligation to submit declarations only for citizens. Therefore it does not apply to stateless persons who can be residents of Ukraine, receive income, and have the obligation to pay taxes. On the other hand, establishing a general obligation to declare income for all citizens without exception is also not justified in relation to those incomes received exclusively from tax agents. The global experience of the introduction of a general declaration of income is analyzed. The impracticality of introducing a general declaration in Ukraine at this stage is substantiated. The participation of not only taxpayers, but also other subjects of tax legal relations, particularly tax agents, is emphasized in fulfilling tax obligations. It is stipulated that the history of the legislation of foreign countries shows that tax collection by a tax agent was developed to solve the problem of tax evasion by taxpayers. In some cases defined by law, the person responsible for determining tax liabilities is the tax authority (for example, when charging land tax to individuals). It is concluded that the mechanism for ensuring the fulfillment of the tax obligation by subject composition should provide for means of influence not only on taxpayers but also on tax agents or tax authorities, who may be responsible for calculating tax payments by law.