Abstract: The article is devoted to topical issues of implementing non-traditional activities with higher school students in the educational process. One type of such activities is binary lectures that contribute to the development of certain competences of students and their adaptation to contemporary reality. Binary lecture promotes better memorization and learning, allows students to learn more about different scientific views and promotes the development of their own position on the issues under consideration. Giving lectures in this manner contributes to the development of both cross-cultural and professional competencies. The authors share their own experience with binary lectures on 'taxation of individuals'. Using methods of describing and summarizing the basic advantages and disadvantages of this form of classroom teachin the authors have developed criteria for evaluating binary lectures from a position of listeners. The results of binary lectures have been discussed at the meeting of the Department of Taxation Policy and Customs and Tarif Regulation held by the Financial University under the President of the Russian Federation which has allowed the researchers to make certain conclusions regarding the main principles and methods of giving such lectures. 

Abstract: The article is devoted to developing tools that enhance the assessment of efficiency of tax credits and other tax benefits. Issues related to evaluating the impact of tax incentive tools have been relevant throughout the entire period of operation of the Russian taxation system. These issues are becoming especially acute during the period of political and economic instability when there is the need to stimulate production and encourage investment and innovation activity in the country. The existing tools of tax incentives in the tax system of the Russian Federation differ in big variety of forms and types, but their impact is not fully and duly applied. To improve the quality of tax benefits and other tax advantages inventory as the initial stage of tax efficiency evaluation should be closely studied. The author gives examples of describing tax benefits for the purposes of their inventory, which in turn allows to organize all tax advantages on classification grounds highlighting their similarities and differences as well as to develop common approaches to the development of criteria and indicators evaluating their effectiveness. Efficiency criteria described herein are supplemented with calculated indices which can be further completed by certain tax benefits, their types, etc. instruments, groups of taxes, categories of taxpayers, branches, activities and other indicators depending on the objectives of the study. Using the above figures the author makes decisions regarding the selection of effective tax concessions in order to create an optimal system of tax incentives and other advantages which should be understood as the total of tax incentives and other advantages that meets the fundamental principles of preferential taxation and allows the most efficient implementation of fiscal and regulatory functions of taxation. In conclusion the author emphasizes the need to continue to improve the aforesaid model. According to the author, it is impossible to carry out a qualitative evaluation of tax efficiency without the engagement of additional approaches (to estimate the weights of the factors influencing indicators). It is assumed that tax incentives efficiency evaluation may be used for more research: for example, performance audit, interviews, and expert assessment.

Abstract: This article is devoted to the tools used to improve evaluation of tax credits and other tax benefits efficiency. Evaluation of the impact of tax incentive tools has been a relevant issue throughout the entire period of operation of the Russian tax system. These issues have become especially burning in the period of political and economic instability when the need for modernization of production and for encouragement of investment and innovation activity in the country has appeared. The tax incentives tools that are used by the tax system of the Russian Federation nowadays have a big variety of forms and types but their impact is not fully or duly assessed. To improve the quality of assessment, it is necessary to conduct inventory of tax incentives and other tax advantages. The author provides examples of characteristics of tax benefits for the purposes of their inventory which in turn allows to classify all tax advantanges and benefits based on their classification features, similarities and differences, and to establish common approaches to developing criteria and estimate indicators for efficiency evaluation.  To establish the best system of tax incentives and other tax advantages it is necessary to select the most efficient tax benefits. As a conclusion of his research, the author emphasizes the need to improve efficiency of tax benefits. She assumes that it is possible to use additional research methods such as efficiency audit, surveys and expert evaluations to assess efficiency of tax benefits. 

Abstract: The article is devoted to the actual issues of improving tax literacy and the role of educational institutions in distributing tax knowledge. Tax literacy today is relevant not only for large companies or individual entrepreneurs but also for all the citizens of the country. It grows especially important under the conditions of the economic crisis when acute issues of full and timely provision of expenditure commitments by the State through tax revenues into the country's budget system come to the fore. Considering the current economic conditions the government is limited in tools that build up tax revenues and this is what creates the basis for the development of another segment tax affair, the search for reserves to increase revenue collection through teaching fiscal discipline and tax literacy to participants of tax relatins including population. Meanwhile, physical entities are the most unmanageable group of taxpayers both in Russia and throughout the world. In this regard, tightening administrative and fiscal responsibility for non-compliance with the legislation on taxes and fees alone is not be the only solution to this problem because one of the most disputed issues related to the tax process is keeping the balance of interests of the state and taxpayers and ensuring social justice for the whole taxation system. The need to improve fiscal literacy must come not only from the state but from taxpayers themselves. Withuot increasing tax literacy it is difficult to overcome negative attitude towards taxes and mistrust towards the government which, unfortunately, is rooted in the mentality of Russian citizens. In modern terms, as never before it is important to be legally educated, to know the basic provisions of the tax legislation in order to adjust the implementation of strategic plans, optimize the resulting tax burden, and simply not to be deceived. In terms of today's world economic and political instability patriotic education of the younger generation and population in general is very important to make them aware of what and whom taxes and fees are for. As practice shows, there is still a large proportion of the population who do not have computer literacy skills or Internet access while the modern system of public service delivery is performed mostly online. Many citizens do not know where to get reliable information regarding the order of calculation of taxes and fees, timing of the introduction of new rules of legislative and normative legal acts regulating tax relations, or their rights and responsibilities. A significant number of them follow their established habits and advice of their friends and acquaintances which results in the decrease of their responsiblity for decisions made. A large role in this situation is given to educational institutions. In her article Savina proposes actions to improve tax awareness that will contribute to the development of partnerships between the state and taxpayers as well as optimization of tax administration.

Abstract: The subject of the research is the agricultural industry tax incentives under existing tax laws. According to the authors, today's fiscal instruments are insufficient to perform their functions while it is well known that the entire economy depends on the system of taxation applied to the agricultural sector. Taxation, investment, and import substitution are the areas that today are most exposed to the close attention and active intervention of the government. In turn, public policy in these areas has a direct impact on the real sector of the economy, one of the fundamental industries of which is agriculture. Important factor in the development and implementation of ideas of import substitution in tactical and strategic context is the sustainable development of the Russian economy under the impact of investment and innovative commitment to public policy. Events of recent years indicate a change in approaches to solving the problems of development of the agricultural sector. Agricultural issues are converted into national and food security of the country. The authors consider such aspects of the topic as implementation of import substitution tasks, increasing investments in agricultural holdings which is impossible without interference with taxation. Increasing the attractiveness of taxation terms for business entities is a powerful mechanism for raising investments into various projects and allows to increase the number of taxpayers and the quality of their products. Particular attention is given to the special tax regime 'unified agricultural tax' and the problems of implementing this tax regime  in the context of the need for import substitution. The authors of the article offer measures aimed at improving particular provisions of tax legislation for enterprises paying the unitifed agricultural tax including application of the investment tax credit. In addition, the authors have analyzed the other approach to calculating the tax rate for the unified agricultural tax and proved the efficiency of this approach. The main emphasis is made on the intergrated approach to using tax instruments in the agricultural sector. 
 

Abstract: This article takes a look at issues of taxation for the simplified taxation system. The subject of the research is the possibility of choosing the payment of value-added tax by entrepreneurs applying the simplified taxation system. Under existing legislation one of the barriers to the application of this tax regime is the accounting treatment of amounts of value added tax by taxpayers and their counteragents. The right choice of VAT payment will prevent loss of counteragents, as entrepreneurs using the simplified taxation system will be able to issue invoices to their counteragents. This is extremely important at the time of economic crises. The authors explore the role and the place of the simplified system of taxation in the budget system, advantages and disadvantages of this tax regime, changes in the terms of taxation from the point of view of their evolutionary aspect and offer improvements that allow counteragents working with enterpreneurs according to the simplified taxation system to partially apply VAT to deduction of tax and have the right to choose the method of VAT payment. The authors' recommendations to amend the VAT accounting procedure for small business representatives will promote partnerships between entrepreneurs and minimize budget losses arising in the process of the refund of value added tax. These issues are particularly relevant in the context of financial and economic instability when the questions of supporting small and medium-sized businesses become especially important.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the exploration of existing contradictions in attitudes and approaches to understanding tax incentive tools such as the "tax breaks" and "preferences" under existing legislation, as well as identifying problems, complicating the process of monitoring the use of tax credits and other tax incentives and tools to assess their effectiveness. Today there are not so many tools of tax incentives in the tax system of the Russian Federation. The main tools include tax benefits which efficiency assessment is confined to calculating budgetary losses for the government. Lately much has been said about tax preferences. However, often these concepts are treated alike. The authors attempt to distinguish these concepts. According to the authors, differentiation between these tax instruments will allow to make adjustments to the method of assessing their efficiency and to influence the quality of decisions regarding their prolongation. Using the methods of analysis and comparison, tax incentives have been divided into tax benefis and tax preferences. Particlar examples are provided. The authors conclude that there are no objective methods for assessing efficiency of tax incentives which would have been developed and fixed by applicable regional laws. The authors emphasize the need to improve existing methodologies and develop a single system of performance criteria for assessing not only tax benefits, but also tax preferences. The authors also suggest to clarify the definition of tax incentives set forth by the Tax Code as well as to fix the provision concerning tax preferences. According to the authors, this would allow to increase objectivity of their efficiency assessment.

Abstract: The authors of the article analyse the existing mechanisms to improve the efficiency of investment projects based on the case study of value-added tax and corporate profit tax. The research covers such taxes as value-added tax (sales tax) and corporate profit tax as well as the impact of depreciation on investment promotion. Attention is also given to specific measures to improve investment opportunities of enterprises. The authors also describe specific legislative measures to stimulate the investment attractiveness of enterprises and their development. In their research the authors have used traditional research methods of analysis and synthesis as well as chronological analysis. The authors carry out the chronological study of the modification of tax legislation and offer innovations to be undertaken in the sphere of tax legislation in order to increase investment activity of entrepreneurs. The authors have shared their point of view regarding the introduction of sales tax, lower VAT rates and distribution of tax according to the levels of the budget system as well as changes in depreciation policies of enterprises and loss recognition procedures. They have also made suggestions on how to boost financial autonomy in Russian regions, etc. The authors believe that the improvement of the tax mechanism will cause a limited impact if we do not link tax reforms to budget policy. Thus, the authors of the article propose particular steps to increase investment activity by improving the regulatory and legal framework. According to the authors, these measures will provide an opportunity to raise additional revenues into the Russian Federation budget. 

Abstract: The article is devoted to identifying problems that complicate the process of monitoring of the implementation of tax rebates and other tax incentives and tools to assess their efficiency. The questions about the impact of tax incentive tools are relevant throughout the entire period of the operation of tax system of the Russian Federation. These problems became especially acute during the period of transition of the country to innovative economy and were further developed under the conditions of sanctions being imposed on Russia which has caused economic volatility and created the need to develop incentive mechanisms to support domestic producers, representatives of small businesses and the poor. There is not such a great variety of tax incentive tools in the tax system of the Russian Federation today. The main tools being used include tax rebates which impact assessment is limited to the evaluation of budget losses.Methodology. The analysis of existing methodologies for evaluating the efficiency of tax incentives has allowed to reveal the specifics of their practical application in the Russian Federation constituents and municipal units. Conclusions. The authors conclude that the existing regional techniques lack the methods of objective evaluation of the efficiency of tax rebates. Thus, there is a need to improve existing methodologies and develop a unified method that would contain a single system of efficiency criteria and evaluate not only tax rebates but also tax incentives and other instruments; not only for the state but also for business. For this purpose, the authors test the method of evaluating the efficiency of tax incentives and preferences developed in 2014 by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation together with the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, for example, tools such as the unified agricultural tax and bonus depreciation. Selection of tools for evaluating efficiency of tax incentives is determined by the goals and objectives of the government dictated by contemporary realities and aimed at the development of import substitution policies and modernization of the fixed assets. Despite the fact that this technique has not yet received a practical implementation, the authors analyze its efficiency in order to define its advantages and drawbacks. The authors conclude that this technique needs to be further improved. 

Abstract: The article analyzes acute problems of reviving Russia’s economy in the situation of financial instability through activation of investment operations. It should be noted that the Russian government attaches primary importance to taxation instruments as a measure of support to tax activities. Among such instruments, tax privileges and preferences should be mentioned. However, investors do not often use these preferences because of their small practicability and effectiveness.
The authors also note that in the situation of absence of monitoring the courses of investments of monetary resources that disengage as a result of applying privileges and preferences, it is rather difficult to make conclusions concerning the effectiveness of applying such instruments by investors. An analysis of the existing mechanisms that promote an increase of effectiveness of investment project enabled the authors to reveal a number of disputable points in accounting of value-added taxes on advance payments for work (provision of services or supply of goods) that have been caused by disadvantages of the current tax legislature.
The authors also analyze arbitration practice and come to the conclusion that the most problematic issues in this sphere are linked with the order of restitution of goods and services tax for producers of goods, works and services in cases of their preliminary gradual outpayment, which, in the conditions of ambiguous interpretations of the current tax legislation, may provoke withdrawals of an investor’s monetary resources from circulation. The authors suggest a number of amendments in the tax legislature, aimed at increasing the investment activity of entrepreneurs.
Perfection of the taxation mechanism would produce only a limited effect if the tax reform is not linked with the budget policy. 
The measures for activation of investment activities with the help of perfecting the normative legal base for goods and services taxes, that are proposed in this article, may be helpful for attracting additional revenues in Russia’s budget system.

Abstract: The article describes a new method of project activities applied during implementation of the educational process in the Master's degree program and contributing to the effective implementation of the competence-based approach in the education process there. Within the given context, the crowdsourcing method is veiwed as the 'co-creation of benefits'. The purpose of the method is to develop innotative thinking skills of students studying for a Master's degree, the kind of skills that would allow them to design and build the social environment for education, the ability to adapt to modern socio-economic conditions, to find organizational and managerial solutions and be responsible for them. The research is based on the materials tested and effectively realized at the Faculty of Taxes and Taxation at Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
The author emphasized the priority of implementation of project activities in the educational process and improvement of adaptive abilities of students to the current economic situation of the country; teamwork skills; readiness for cooperation with colleagues; the ability to take into account the interests of others, select and use adequate solutions of communication tasks taking into account the age, psychological and physiological characteristics of students; an effective independent work on the implementation of the individual educational plans in cooperation with teachers and fellow students.