Taxation of SMEs as an Instrument of Public Impact on their Activity

Natalya Shlafman, Olena Bondar

Abstract

The paper describes the features of taxation of small and medium enterprises as important segments of the economy of any state. Modern definitions of macro, small and medium enterprises at the level of the European Union and in the legislation of Ukraine were considered. It was established that Ukrainian legislation does not take into account the aggregate annual value of macro-, small and medium enterprises as a criterion for their classification. It was found that the practice of application of a special regime for tax regulation of small and medium enterprises is widespread: establishment of a reduced tax rate, exemption from payment of individual taxes, etc. The emphasis is placed on the fact that despite the introduction of a simplified taxation system that exempts small and medium-sized businesses from paying income tax in all cases, today it is necessary to simplify the procedure for administering taxes and the payment by the indicated entities of a single tax, which leads to concealing the real incomes by the latters and, accordingly, the growth of the shadow economy in Ukraine.