Tax Gaps in The Russian Federation: Identification and Estimation

The article presents a study of approaches to identification and estimation of tax gaps. The tax gap that is defined as the difference between the amount of tax collected and the amount of tax theoretically collectible in the absence of tax evasion or late payments is an increasingly popular measure of a tax system’s success. Additionally, estimations of tax gaps are globally considered a possible metric of the efficiency of taxation authorities. This study aims to identify and systematize methods of estimation of tax gaps and to produce an estimation of tax gaps in the Russian Federation. The study used methods of logical and system analysis of tax gaps; a content analysis was performed of the literature and the practice of tax gap estimations synthesized; factors that affect the size of tax gaps were examined.