The tax base is the amount that expresses a certain economic capacity , on which the payment of tax obligations is established. The expression is used in the field of economics .
It should be noted that a Greek word that came to Latin as basis derived, in our language, into the concept of base . Although it has several uses, in this case we are interested in sticking with its meaning as the foundation or foundation of something .
Taxable , for its part, is an adjective that comes from the verb to impose . The term qualifies that which can be levied with some type of tribute or tax .
What is the tax base
It can be said that the tax base is a magnitude derived from the act of measuring a taxable event . This last notion (taxable event) is used with respect to the circumstance or event that generates a legal obligation to pay taxes.
The taxable event, in short, is what gives rise to a tax obligation: that is, the obligation to pay a tribute or tax. The economic capacity of people is manifested through these taxable events, but it needs to be valued (put into figures) in some way so that a tax can be applied. The tax base is this valuation or magnitude that is used in the tax to measure the economic capacity of the individual.
Take the case of estate taxes. These taxes are applied to the assets of a natural person, calculated from the value of their assets. The tax base is the sum of the monetary value of these assets that constitute the subject's assets.
Estimation methods
First of all, we have direct estimation , a general method that is used to determine the tax base of most taxes in many tax systems . Generally, it is applied by the taxpayer himself when he submits his self-assessments.
One of the characteristics of this procedure is that between the tax base and its corresponding mediation there is a real correspondence, that is, it is a regime that seeks to bring the results closer to the true value of the elements that are calculated, in addition to taking into account with the same importance the data recorded in the books and the declarations of the taxpayer.
On the other hand, there is the objective estimate , a voluntary method that entails the renunciation by the Administration and the taxpayer to measure the objective element in a real and direct way; Instead, they apply data and indices from which an amount that represents the average tax base emerges.
This method of estimating the tax base is dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses . The measurement of economic capacity has less relation to reality, since the calculations are based on modules, signs and general coefficients that the Administration sets annually.
Finally we have the indirect estimate , an exceptional way of quantifying the tax base, through which the Administration has the power to determine this data when it does not have the necessary information to carry out all the calculations accurately.
In order to use the indirect estimate, certain conditions must be met, such as the person not submitting their declarations , doing so in an inaccurate or incomplete manner, resisting inspection, obstructing their development, or does not comply with its registration and accounting obligations. The means used to determine the tax base in this case are of an indicative type, that is, they derive from certain indications and not from well-defined data.