Review: In the modern world, the sphere of trade is one of the dominant spheres of economic activity. The subject of the study is the peculiarities of taxation of wholesale and retail trade entities, as well as the problems arising from these features. Despite the development of the industry in terms of taxation, there are problematic issues that are worth paying attention to for the further development and improvement of not only the taxation of a particular industry, but also the entire taxation system, as well as the stimulation and development of the industry by organizations. The research methodology consists of analysis, synthesis, deduction and modeling, tabular and graphical methods of data visualization. As a result of consideration of the main features of taxation of the trade industry, the main goal of the work was achieved – problems were identified and ways of improvement that can be applied in practice were proposed. In the author's research, several elements of novelty and practical significance can be identified: the systemic features of taxation of economic entities in the field of trade are identified and formulated based on the analysis of scientific literature and regulatory acts; the problems of taxation when trading with gift certificates, when applying discounts and margins are identified; directions for improving the taxation of trading companies aimed at concretization are proposed tax legislation and minimization of tax risks of all participants in tax legal relations.

Keywords: shortages, marketing policy of the organization, VAT, tax administration, trade margins, trade discounts, gift certificates, taxation of trade, tax legislation, income tax

Review: The article is devoted to the study of crypto assets as a specific category for tax purposes with the allocation of inherent features that affect tax regulation. The purpose of the article is to update the main approaches to taxation of transactions with crypto assets based on the experience of different countries, including Russia. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set: to identify the features of crypto assets that allow considering crypto assets as a specific category for tax regulation purposes, to formulate theoretical approaches to taxation of crypto assets, to investigate practical experience and trends in taxation of transactions with such digital assets both in the international arena and in the Russian Federation; to identify the main problems in tax regulation transactions with crypto assets and suggest ways to solve them. As a result of the study, conclusions were drawn about the presence of specific characteristics of crypto assets (decentralization, a high degree of anonymity of transactions, the international nature of use, hybridity), which, together with the lag of regulatory legislation due to the rapid development of the crypto industry, complicate the tax regulation of transactions with this type of asset. It has been established that the absence of taxation rules for crypto assets in general does not mean that taxation is impossible and allows the application of tax rules established for similar categories of assets. The presence of special tax regulation of transactions with crypto assets allows both to influence the attractiveness of doing business in this area in certain jurisdictions, and to simplify regulation in this area by providing benefits to participants in crypto relations. The author revealed that a critical problem in this area is the difficulty of tax administration of transactions with crypto assets using traditional methods of tax control due to the difficulty of identifying the transactions, including due to the international nature of the use of crypto assets, which entails tax evasion of subjects of cryptocurrency transactions.

Keywords: virtual currencies, digital currencies, income tax, VAT, digital financial assets, mining, blockchain, cryptocurrency, token, distributed ledger

Review: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a serious challenge for the entire world community. National governments were forced to introduce restrictive measures to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus infection. However, the self-isolation regime announced in many countries is one of the main factors of the recession into which the world economy has plunged. As a confirmation, the article presents the results of a study conducted by the International Monetary Fund. In connection with these events, anti-crisis programs were developed in many countries of the world, which provided for several packages of financial support measures for the population and businesses. One of the basic tools for implementing the approved economic recovery programs were tax measures, which are the subject of this study.   A review of the world practice of using tax instruments allowed us to distinguish two groups. The first group includes tax measures adapted to the new socio-economic realities, which, despite the reduction of the tax burden, are not tax expenditures. The second group includes tax expenses. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, based on the results of studying international experience, a classification of tax expenditures used to offset the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic was developed. The purpose of the provision is selected as a classification feature. The conducted research allowed us to conclude that the most popular tax expenditures were such tax expenditures as the reduction (exemption) of indirect taxes on medical products and products of firms affected by the introduction of restrictive measures. In addition, tax expenditures in the form of tax deductions and credits for taxes on individual and corporate income have become widespread, encouraging taxpayers to direct savings to finance investments and activities of small and medium-sized businesses, special funds to combat COVID-19.

Keywords: tax instruments, recession, remote work, restrictive measures, self-isolation, COVID-19 pandemic, tax expenses, tax burden, solvency of the enterprise, investment

Review: The implementation of quarantine measures and the decline in economic activity in 2020 became an impetus for the implementation of a stimulating tax policy not only at the federal, but also at the subnational level. The article examines the experience of countercyclical fiscal policy in the OECD countries, highlights the factors of relatively modest tax support provided to small and medium-sized businesses at the subnational level. The object of the study is stimulating tax expenditures provided in accordance with the legislation of the Russian regions to support economic entities in the conditions of restrictive measures caused by the spread of a new coronavirus infection. The research methodology is based on the methods of formal logic, statistical and econometric analysis. The scientific novelty of this study consists in conducting a comprehensive analysis covering all subjects of the Russian Federation in which stimulating tax expenditures were actually provided, and assessing the regional tax policy implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic through the prism of key budget parameters and indicators of socio-economic development. The regional tax policy was carried out in conditions of large-scale fiscal support from the federal center and deterioration of the state of subnational finances due to the growth of deficit budgets. During the 2020 pandemic, the constituent entities of the Russian Federation provided tax benefits on taxes that account for a small share in the revenues of regional budgets. Since the main purpose of tax incentives was to solve liquidity problems and maintain employment, investment tax incentives for corporate income tax were not introduced in Russian regions. The study of the actual and forecast dynamics of GRP allowed us to conclude that the tax support measures implemented in the Russian subjects stimulated economic activity and helped to smooth out the negative consequences of the coronacrisis.

Keywords: coronacrisis, inter-budget transfers, simplified taxation system, property taxes, gross regional product, small business, regions, subnational budgets, tax benefits, tax expenditures

Review: The subject of the research is the theory and methodology of taxation in connection with use of environmental objects aimed to reduce the negative impacts on it, approaches to determining the status of taxes levied when using the environment, trends in the development of the taxation system aimed to reduce negative impacts on various natural objects, means to stimulate the use of resource-saving and environmentally neutral technologies in foreign countries. Particular attention is paid to the development of environmental taxes abroad on the basis of approaches to reducing emissions developed within the framework of the Convention on Climate Change and subsequent decisions on reducing emissions of harmful substances at the international level. Research methods: observation; description; analysis and synthesis; logic; comparison. Research methodology: consideration of the theoretical principles of the taxation system with a negative impact on the environment; identification of the interrelationships of the elements of this system and the violation of interrelations; formation of theoretical conclusions for national interests based on the study of taxation practice. The main conclusions of the study are: 1) all the countries under study apply tax instruments aimed to reduce the negative impact on the environment, the specifics of the taxation systems are determined by the specifics of the resource potential and historical aspects; 2) the regime of cross-border carbon regulation is a form of struggle for the competitive advantages of European companies. The novelty of the study is: 1) the priority importance of the taxation system with regard to the environment, which has a cross-border and transnational character, is revealed; 2) the need to stimulate the introduction of technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful substances is proved; 3) the features of the implementation of the mechanism of cross-border carbon regulation in the Russian Federation in the current economic conditions are outlined.

Keywords: energy taxes, transport taxes, tax incentives, natural object, taxation of environmental management, environmental tax, carbon regulation, environmental protection, negative impact, green technologies