The Evolution of the Legal Regulation of Property Taxation in Russia in the Period from the 10th to the 20th Century

The purpose of the research. The purpose of the research is to identify patterns in the frameworks of evolution of property taxation in historical retrospect. Special attention is paid to the role of property tax in the taxation mechanism as a whole. Conclusions. The legal basis of property taxation was actually formed only in the XV-XVI centuries. After the formation of the centralized Moscow state, the role of property taxes was predominant, since land was considered as a key value. The problem of land taxation was the lack of a unified assessment system for determining the amount of taxes. In turn, the result of Peter I’s reforms can be identified unification of approaches in the taxation of property, reducing the possibility of subjectivism. The mechanism of collection of property taxes up to the Soviet period assumed a significant role of local self-government bodies or other private individuals (for example, in the case of pay-off under Peter I), whose powers included determining the characteristics of a particular property in order to tax it. The establishment of consistent legal regulation of taxation of property occurred in the XIX century. It was at this historical period that the division of movable and immovable property took place, all elements of taxation were legally regulated, as well as benefits in the payment of property taxes were determined, the tax base depending on the value of the land was fixed. In order to levy property taxes on the consistent relationship of taxation of income and property, the use of household, poll, income, property principles. The system of property taxes applied in the XX century was not distinguished by harmony and consistency, which is explained by rather abrupt changes in state policy (for example, the transition from a new economic policy to collectivization and industrialization). In addition, property taxes objectively lost their importance when all resources were concentrated in the hands of the state.