Evolution of the tax system in the Soviet Union: republican specifics and union-wide trends

The study, the results of which are summarised in this article, is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and essential characteristics of the tax 
system of the Soviet Union as a unique historical and economic phenomenon. The tax system is considered by the authors as a key element of the state’s financial relations, which underwent radical transformations throughout the XX century in the context of changing socio-economic formations and political regimes. 
The study is based on a retrospective analysis of the development stages of the Soviet tax system, closely correlating with the main periods of the state’s history, 
and aims to identify the common features of the Soviet tax model, trace its periodisation, and analyse the specifics of taxation in individual union republics, taking into account scientific approaches to the study of the Soviet financial history. The example of the tax system confirms the thesis about the deep interconnection of the development stages of the Soviet state and the transformation of its fiscal mechanisms. The article contributes to the understanding of the tax system as a complex, evolving institution which structure and functions are determined by external socio-economic and political environment, confirming the key postulates of the institutional approach. The conclusions formulated by the authors that the tax system of the USSR evolved from the denial of taxes to the creation of a unique centralised model, deeply integrated into the planned-administrative economy and based on the direct withdrawal of income from the state sector, which fundamentally distinguished it from classical market-type tax systems, are distinguished by their scientific novelty. For the first time, on the basis of a comprehensive analysis, the fundamental, system-forming features of the tax system of the Soviet state are formulated and substantiated.

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