The dissertation is dedicated to a comprehensive and systematic study of the conceptual aspects of taxing individuals' income. Arguments are provided regarding the necessity of differentiating the taxation of individuals based on the tax system structure of a specific country. The significance of analyzing global models of tax systems is emphasized, where states can consider various parameters such as progressivity, proportionality, regressivity of tax rates in developing their tax systems. Additionally, legal problems capable of causing double taxation of individuals are highlighted, and the psychological features of taxpayers' attitudes toward paying income taxes are noted. Taxpayers do not associate the payment of taxes with receiving social benefits and, according to their perception, this is perceived as alienation of funds for the benefit of an undefined entity, which may encourage attempts to evade tax payment.
The preference for direct taxes in most countries is indicated, but it is acknowledged that the share of indirect taxes can also be significant and, in some cases (in certain countries), predominant. Direct taxes, divided into real and personal, are levied directly on the property or income of taxpayers. Real taxes include land and industrial taxes, paid without regard to actual income. Personal taxes, such as income, corporate, capital gains, property, and inheritance taxes, consider income over a specific period.
In analyzing the personal income tax as a direct tax, attention is drawn to the resemblance of this type of taxation to elements of real taxes. An analysis of the period before the adoption of the Tax Code of Ukraine is conducted, when the ordinary value of property transferred by proxy was included in the taxpayer's income if the conditions of transfer included the right to sell or alienate this property by another person. The tax is outlined as a complex phenomenon representing a system of interacting elements and being a fundamental legal construction in tax law. The division of the internal structure of the tax into elements is explained by the methodological expediency in the context of systemic analysis.
Conceptual changes in the taxation of individuals are identified, driven by the codification of tax legislation in Ukraine. The dynamics of legal regulation of personal income tax are explored, highlighting three stages. The first stage saw the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On Personal Income Tax," which operated briefly. The second stage involved the adoption of a more detailed Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Personal Income Tax," reflecting a progressive approach to taxing individuals. The final stage was the introduction in 2003 of the Law of Ukraine "On Tax on Personal Income," which established a proportional taxation model and regulated numerous contentious aspects. The Tax Code of Ukraine, adopted in 2010, did not bring about fundamental changes in the taxation of individuals, except for renaming the tax to "personal income tax."
Elements of the legal mechanism of the tax, determined in co-ordination, are aimed at ensuring the dynamics and implementation of tax obligations. The term "legal" indicates the need to consider not only the internal structure of the tax but also its consolidation and provision of legal force. The use of the term "elements of the legal mechanism of the tax" is the most accurate for characterizing the legal construction of the tax, reflecting its essence. It is important to note that elements of tax law, while being the main form of fixing the tax, do not reflect its financial essence and do not form the economic content of individual elements.
One of the most significant problems in the current development stage of tax law is outlined, leading to the identification of the concepts of the object and subject of taxation in financial-legal literature, and the necessity of distinguishing, within the legal mechanism of the tax, an element (together with the object) of the subject of taxation. In this regard, by differentiating and characterizing these concepts, the correlation of comparing the relationship of the object and subject of taxation with the correlation of such philosophical categories as "content and form," "part and whole" is argued. The object of taxation is defined as specific things, events, or phenomena of the material world that lead to taxation, existing in the context of various taxes. The difference between the object and subject of taxation is highlighted, which is especially pronounced concerning property taxes. The tax base is often a component part of the subject of taxation, to which a tax rate is applied, but sometimes this base is a projection of the subject of taxation onto a defined plane.
