Orlenko O. Soviet tax policy and its realization in the 1920s (on an example of Leningrad)

The object of the research – activity of state and local authorities in establishing and collecting taxes and fees during the NEP. The dissertation purpose: to define the historical experience of development and realization of the Soviet tax politics on an example of Petrograd-Leningrad, to reveal its place and role in economic life of the country within NEP. The methods: analysis, synthesis, systematization, generalization; problem-chronological, historical-comparative, structural and systemic; statistical. Scientific novelty: the revival of the monetary assessment with the proclamation of the new economic policy, its stages, and details are described; the dynamics of change in revenues from state and local taxes, the ratio of direct and indirect taxes in Leningrad are shown; in this paper, the ways of avoiding taxation by payers are analyzed, as well as, identified features of this process; motives that induced subjects of taxation to act out of the legal field are considered; it is proven that Leningrad had its own approach to solving problems in paying taxes in full, including the creation of the “Chamber of the National Court on tax matters”; it had proved its effectiveness in the first months of operation; the process of building the tax apparatus during these years of new economic policy is reviewed and it is concluded that inadequate funding of the tax authority in the early years of the NEP had a negative effect on the formation of its quantitative composition and function; it is emphasized that Leningrad had distinguished itself from other regions with excessively high tax rates, as well as a number of local taxes imposed solely within the city; the reasons of this phenomenon are analyzed; it is noted that in the 1920s taxes did not perform their functions in full – they did not promote economic development, on the contrary, suppressed growth; this often became an unbearable burden for subjects of taxation; the latter was especially true for the second half of the 20s of the XX century. Practical value of research: the materials of the dissertation can be used at writing monographs and manuals about the history of the Soviet state, at creation of courses and special courses in higher educational institutions, at writing student's course and degree works. Sphere of use: higher educational institutions.