In recent years, the taxi market in Russia has been developing at a particularly rapid pace. For a long time, the corresponding type of transport services was provided with minimal intervention by the state and inspection structures.
The result of this "liberalism" was the emergence of a large number of unofficial carriers. Their activities were characterized, firstly, by not always high quality of service, and secondly, by very low, as many experts believe, tax collection (despite the fact that it generated income and was taxed with the appropriate fees).
The state decided to thoroughly take up the regulation of this segment of services. In the fall of 2011, a law came into force, according to which the activities of taxi services became legal only upon issuing the relevant permits, the so-called licenses. What is this document? How to make a taxi license?
The essence of the law
The legal act in question is Federal Law No. 69 of April 21, 2011. It contains the rules governing the activities of companies that provide taxi services. In fact, the law entered into force on September 1, 2011. Many lawyers praised the initiative of the authorities, believing that the streamlining of taxi drivers in one way or another is due to the realities of the business.
What happened before the law was passed? Then the taxi drivers worked in accordance with the general rules reflected in the Rules of passenger traffic. Which, according to lawyers, were not particularly strict regarding such an aspect as giving this activity official status. People from the professional industry community did not even think about how to obtain a license or other authorization document for its implementation. But with the introduction of the new law, the situation has changed.
In accordance with the adopted legal act, passenger transportation services can only be provided by legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who have permission issued by the authorities and received the name "license". Although, as experts say, this term is more applicable to other types of activities (banking, say).
Primary requirements
The permission in question is issued for a period of 5 years. Automobiles can be owned or leased by entrepreneurs. Some experts, commenting on the law, believe that leasing and even a general power of attorney are also suitable. Also, cars that are supposed to be used in activities must be equipped with equipment that calculates the mileage of transportation, and in some regions (subject to relevant legal acts) they also have a certain color and body design.
Some experts draw attention to the fact that in the very first edition of the law a number of ambiguous formulations took place. In particular, the list of documents that were required to be provided to entrepreneurs when issuing a license was not properly regulated. This caused a wave of regional “arbitrariness”: the agencies responsible for issuing taxi permits began to demand a huge amount of documents from drivers. Up to a dozen or more different papers. One way or another, in the latest editions of the Federal Law No. 69 it contains clearer formulations regarding documents. Their required amount is significantly reduced. But first things first.
Legalization of a taxi
With the introduction of new legislative requirements for the activities of taxi services, there are three possible options for the legal provision of the appropriate type of motor transport services. Consider the main ones.
First of all, you can go to work for hire in the existing taxi service. In this case, the person will provide services and receive a fixed salary for it (as a rule, depending on the number of passengers carried).
Estimated "rate" here - about 50% of revenue. That is, if the driver earned 80 thousand rubles on trips, then he will receive about 40 thousand in the form of a salary. Meanwhile, the employer will bear the costs associated with paying contributions to the treasury to the PFR, FSS and MHIF for the employee hired. This is about 30% of the amount transferred to the salary account. The driver, in turn, will be required to deduct personal income tax in the amount of 13%.
Secondly, you can start transporting passengers using a rented car. To do this, the driver must issue the status of IP. However, a license to transport passengers by taxi in this case is not needed. The minus of the scheme is the need to make daily (usually) deductions for the company that owns the transport. And therefore, despite the fact that the driver is framed as an entrepreneur, it is most likely impossible to talk about full-fledged entrepreneurial activity here.
Thirdly, a taxi permit can be issued while in the status of IP and owning a personal car. That is, having passed the official procedure for registering a business and then obtaining the necessary license to provide services. In this case, we are talking about entrepreneurship. If a person engaged in a taxi business succeeds in “promoting” his brand (at least at the city level), then the prospects are wonderful. Therefore, we will focus on this particular format of work of the taxi service, despite the fact that it is more difficult to go through the necessary formal procedures to start such an activity than in the two previous scenarios.
The most important aspect of the law - permission is issued not for the organization as a whole, but for each car.
A document confirming that the car is "licensed" must be present in its cabin and should be provided at the very first request to the passenger (or to the inspection authorities if they decide to make sure that the services are provided legally).
The license, meanwhile, is not subject to revocation by the body that issued it (as well as by any other executive authority). this is possible only if the court makes the relevant decision.
If, for example, there is no equipment for calculating the mileage on the vehicles at the time of the check, then all the departments can do is to issue an order on the need to eliminate the defect.
Now we turn to the most important thing - the process of obtaining permission for the activity on the transportation of passengers. How to get a taxi license? How much can it cost? Who issues a taxi license? What documents are needed to receive it? What mechanisms can speed up the clearance process?
Documents
The most important factor is the documents for obtaining a taxi license. We have already said above that we can only qualify for legal work as part of a separate taxi business in the IP status. Therefore, we will consider that the most important document - a certificate of registration of entrepreneurial activity, issued by the Federal Tax Service, we already have. What do I need to get a taxi license, besides this document? That's what:
- photocopy of all pages of the passport;
- extract from the register (issued in tax);
- photocopy of the certificate of registration of the car (or rental agreement, leasing).
As a rule, business is limited to providing only these papers. However, as some lawyers have noted, in some regions of the Russian Federation, entrepreneurs may need to prepare a number of other documents in order to obtain a taxi license. All the nuances need to be found out in local transport departments.
Where to go
Where can I get a taxi license? Issuance of documents of this type is carried out by authorized bodies of the regional executive authority. For example, if the question is how to get a taxi license in Moscow, then you need to contact the Moscow Department of Transport. Similar departments are in each subject of the federation. Are there any options about how to get a license without making a visit to the government? There is. You can do this through the Gosuslugi.Ru portal, having previously registered on it and activated your account. True, you still have to go to the regional department of the Ministry of Transport - to pick up the license.
A responsibility
We have indicated above that only a court can select a permit for taxi activity. However, there are a number of liability mechanisms established by law in relation to passenger transportation services. What will happen if an entrepreneur chooses not to think about how to get a taxi license, but begins to provide his services without relevant documents?
The main penalty in such cases is fines. They can be issued both to taxi drivers and to their employers. The specific language reflecting the applicability of sanctions in certain cases may vary from region to region (depending on which, in particular, requirements for cars are established). We will give some examples of possible penalties.
If the driver carries passengers without a license by illegally placing a yellow lamp on the roof of the car, he will be fined 5 thousand rubles, and the car may be confiscated. A similar penalty will be applied if the color scheme is illegally placed on the car. True, without confiscation. If the driver cannot show the passenger or the checking officer documents reflecting the legality of the transport, this will also entail a fine of 5 thousand rubles.
If the driver does not issue to the passenger, at his request, a check or a strict reporting form reflecting the fact of payment for the services rendered, then the fine will amount to 1 thousand rubles. In addition, in the amount of up to 30 thousand rubles. may be punished by the employer. If there is a taxi license, but the car is not equipped with color schemes or a yellow light on the roof, then a fine of 3 thousand rubles may be issued to the driver. Collection to the company may amount to 50 thousand.
License costs
How much is a taxi license? The law does not provide any recommendations regarding “tariffs” when government agencies issue permits for taxi services. However, there is a clause according to which regional authorities have the right to charge a fee of up to 5 thousand rubles for licensing services.
The exact size of the taxi permit fee can be found in regional legislative sources. How long is a taxi license valid for? He is the same everywhere - 5 years. The fee for registration is not the only, and far from the biggest cost. The owner of a taxi service, or a driver who has registered as an individual entrepreneur, will incur significant associated costs during the course of the activity. Which ones?
First of all, these are the costs associated with the registration of IP status in tax. At a minimum, this is a state duty (800 rubles). But in practice, the costs are much greater. Almost always, documents that are sent to the tax require notarization - the total cost of this procedure can be another 400-500 rubles. But no matter how large the costs associated with registering an IP may look, they will seem very modest against the background of subsequent obligations to the Federal Tax Service and state funds.
Taxes and fees
Each individual entrepreneur, regardless of whether he has income or not, is required to make contributions to the PFR and the FSS. In 2014, their amount amounted to about 20 thousand rubles. In addition, a taxi driver-entrepreneur pays taxes - 6% of revenue.You can, however, try to save on the patent fees system (about its features - a little later). In this case, you can pay a fixed amount to the Federal Tax Service (approximately like with UTII). However, its value, experts say, is growing from year to year.
Is a patent beneficial?
To understand more precisely how much a taxi driver’s license actually costs (and not just taking into account the costs of registration), let us delve somewhat into the topic of taxation. So what aspects are we talking about?
A patent is a special taxation scheme used in a limited number of business sectors, but taxi services are included. As we said above, fees at the Federal Tax Service are calculated and paid in accordance with the rates established in certain legal acts. In particular, for Moscow, the cost of a patent in 2012 was about 11 thousand rubles. At the same time, it can be reduced by the amount of contributions to the PFR and the FSS (this is about 20 thousand, as we said above), but not more than half. That is, paying fees to state funds, the Moscow taxi driver-entrepreneur, if we take the figures relevant for 2012, had to bear the costs in the amount of about 25 thousand 500 rubles.
However, in 2013 financial conditions became tougher. The cost of a patent, firstly, rose to 18 thousand rubles. In addition, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation was amended to exclude the possibility of compensation of 50% of payments to the Federal Tax Service due to deductions to the PFR and FSS. In addition, payments to funds increased - from 20 thousand rubles. to 36. And how much does a taxi license cost in accordance with this formula? It turns out, 54 thousand. Calculation, which, as experts rightly remark, suits very few entrepreneurs.
Tax options
There are no particular problems with how to get a taxi license. The main difficulty of the business is a large tax burden. Is there any way to optimize contributions to the Federal Tax Service? How to make a taxi license less financially burdensome? The options here, I must say, are few. But they are.
One of the solutions is to use USN after all and pay 6% of income. The main opportunity here is that for entrepreneurs working in this tax regime, the right to deduct from the fees payable to the Fed, the amount of payments to the FIU and the FSS, is retained. What is important - not 50%, but completely. In this case, it may turn out that the entrepreneur does not have to pay any taxes at all by covering the calculated amounts with settlements with state funds. True, in this case, taxi drivers will need to bother with additional reporting to the Federal Tax Service. In particular, an income declaration will need to be submitted annually.
How to get a license to transport taxi passengers, we found out. They also talked about how to reduce the actual costs of its maintenance. Experts relate to government initiatives related to increased intervention in the taxi industry in different ways. Some evaluate the activities of the authorities in an extremely positive manner, saying that the market is ripe enough to start functioning within the framework of civilized norms of law.
Others believe that the state, with all the advantages of the initiative in question, has to carry out very thorough work to optimize legal norms. Especially those related to taxation. The figures that we quoted above, even for the capital, do not seem small. For many regional market players, they may even be unbearable. However, the mechanism of legalizing the activities of taxi services, experts say, has already been launched. And it works.
