Организации, занимающиеся добычей полезных minerals, must pay mineral extraction tax, as well as carry out the calculation of land tax, which significantly increases the amount of costs. The reduction of the tax burden is possible due to the optimization of the MET by applying the most advantageous method of cost accounting. MET is calculated based on the methodology for determining the amount of mined minerals (Article 339 of the Tax Code), it can be calculated directly using measuring devices; indirectly - according to available data on the mineral content in the extracted raw materials. The chosen technique should be applied during the whole period of mining operations, its correction is possible only with the change of the mining technology.
Also the tax on extraction of mineralsis calculated depending on the value of minerals, which can be determined in one of three ways: depending on the sale prices without taking into account the state subsidies that have developed in a certain tax period; depending on the sale prices for mined minerals that have developed in a certain tax period; depending on the estimated cost of extracted minerals, which includes direct costs - the costs associated with bringing mineral raw materials in line with standards, as well as indirect costs. Practically, enterprises paying a tax on the extraction of minerals have the right to determine the estimated value by two methods differing in the order of taking into account the indirect costs. The first of them is their distribution in proportion to the ratio of direct costs of mining to their aggregate amount within the tax period; the second - the maintenance of a separate tax accounting for indirect costs related and not related to mining. Based on the value of these costs, related and not related to the extraction of minerals, the taxpayer is given the opportunity to vary the indicator of the estimated value. After analyzing the composition of indirect costs and calculating the different ways of distributing them for both options, the company can choose the most optimal one and consolidate it in the accounting policy. To assess the appropriateness of using one or another method, it is worth considering the example of calculating the tax base for MET.
Suppose that an organization that pays a tax onextraction of minerals, has the following economic indicators: direct costs associated with production - 60,000 rubles, not related to production - 56,000 rubles; indirect costs associated with extraction - 20,000 rubles; for primary processing - 30,000 rubles; for secondary processing - 80,000 rubles; general production costs - 70000 rubles.
To calculate the tax on the extraction of usefulfossils in the first way, it is necessary to find the share of direct costs related to production in the total direct costs: 60,000: (60000 + 56000) = 0.52. Indirect costs for determining the tax base are calculated by multiplying the total expenditure of this category by the share of direct costs: (20000 + 30000 + 80000 + 70000) x 0.52 = 104000 rubles. Thus, the estimated cost is 164,000 rubles (104,000 + 60,000).
To consider the second method of calculationit is necessary to divide the indirect costs for primary processing into two groups: costs directly related to the production process - 20,000 rubles; general production costs - 10,000 rubles. The share of direct costs related to the extraction of minerals is determined similarly to the first option and is 0.52. The amount of indirect costs included in the estimated cost is calculated by the formula: K1 + K2 * K, where K1 - the indirect costs related to the extraction of minerals; K2 - general production costs to be distributed; K is the share of direct costs. The calculation is as follows: (20000 + 20000 + (10000 + 70000) x 0.52) = 81600 rubles. Indirect costs for secondary processing in the calculations are not involved, because they do not have a direct relationship to the extraction process. The estimated value of minerals in this case will be 141600 rubles (81600 + 60000).
As can be seen from the above example, the applicationthe second method of calculation reduces the tax base by 22,400 rubles. It should be noted that this technique is suitable for those enterprises that are engaged in the extraction of minerals not for their further sale, but for use in the production of any products. To optimize the tax on minerals in this way, the enterprise needs to organize a separate accounting of indirect costs, which will require additional labor. On the other hand, its use will avoid claims of tax authorities, since the scheme is based not on legislative gaps, but on applying a more sophisticated method of calculation.
