Earlier Vedomosti newspaper, relying on sources in the company, reported that the digital platform «Yandex Taxi» will pay professional income tax (PIT) for all its self-employed performers. Tax Compliance tax consultant Ekaterina Kopylova analyzed this initiative in the context of possible legislative changes.

Is it possible to implement such an initiative without making changes to the legislation?

Strictly speaking, the ability of the platform to act as a tax agent for the engaged executors, taking into account the current regulation, depends on the status of a particular executor (sole proprietor, individual without sole proprietorship status or self-employed), as well as the way in which the contractual relationship is formalized (directly between the customer and the executor without formal participation of the platform or between the executor and the platform plus the platform and the customer). So, for example, if a service contract is concluded between an individual without the status of an individual entrepreneur or self-employed person and the platform, a Russian organization, the obligation to withhold personal income tax and insurance contributions in the appropriate amount is expressly provided for by law. It is another matter if you work with self-employed persons or sole proprietors, they themselves are obliged to prepare reports, calculate and pay taxes on their income.

However, it seems that even without fixing the status of tax agents in relation to platforms, in fact many companies have already implemented certain elements of the tax agent function and even position this as a competitive advantage for performers using such a platform. Thus, on their official websites, companies point out the possibilities of automatic generation of checks, preparation of acts or even full integration with the application for the self-employed «My Tax» in partnership with the Federal Tax Service of Russia.

How does the potential introduction of tax agency platforms relate to the self-employment regime? 

At the moment, the possibility for the self-employed to transfer their obligations to calculate and pay tax on professional income to an arbitrary customer or any other person, including platforms where they find orders, is not envisaged. At the same time, the relevant federal law establishes the possibility for the self-employed to delegate the implementation of the established rights and performance of duties to operators of electronic platforms and (or) credit organizations that carry out information exchange with the tax authorities through special software. [1]

Interestingly, the self-employment regime was introduced as being as easy to use as possible for income recipients. Thus, the «My Tax» application, its integration with the largest banks, which allows for the automatic generation of checks, the establishment of a single tax (NTC) instead of several different payments, and the absence of the obligation to prepare reports (declarations) and pay insurance premiums should have served as a sufficient basis for the self-employed to keep track of their tax status and pay taxes without the intervention of their employers. It was supposed to be more favorable and easier for customers to work in terms of administrative burden.

But, apparently, it all comes down to integrity and maximizing convenience for the self-employed, who still prefer to avoid interaction with government agencies, including fiscal ones, even through an application with a convenient interface, which is understandable. 

What difficulties in the implementation of the legislative initiative may arise? 

Apparently, the practice of fulfillment of tax obligations of freelancers by electronic platforms is quite widespread and is becoming the norm. Therefore, the clarification of legal regulation, including the procedure for imposing on them the obligations of information exchange with authorized bodies and responsibility for their non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment, is quite overdue.

It can also be assumed that the state considers the self-employed as a full-fledged source of revenue for the state budget, which can be evidenced, among other things, by their significant number and the dynamics of registration and income (more than 12 million as of the end of 2024 according to the Federal Tax Service).

In this regard, it cannot be excluded that the tax burden and tax control in respect of this group of taxpayers will grow over time. Thus, for example, there is information about surveys of the Accounts Chamber on a related topic.

In this context, the interaction of auditors with more professional market participants, such as digital platform operators, looks quite expected and justified. 

[1] Part 3 of Article 3 of the Federal Law dated 27.11.2018 N 422-FZ «On conducting an experiment to establish a special tax regime Professional Income Tax».