Since 1 994,65438+10,1,as the main tax category in China, it has attracted much attention, both in the national macroeconomic policy and within enterprises. After several years of practice, many problems gradually surfaced and became clear. Here we only discuss some problems in the accounting treatment of value-added tax. The current value-added tax accounting adopts the dual-track system of price and tax, which obviously reflects the requirements of tax law and deviates from the accounting connotation of value-added tax and the general law of accounting. The main laws and regulations of the current value-added tax in China pay too much attention to the need to protect the national fiscal revenue and tax collection and management, and artificially expand the differences between tax laws and regulations, accounting standards and accounting systems.

First, the existing VAT accounting model problems

(A) against the historical cost principle

The principle of historical cost requires enterprises to take the actual paid price and obligations as the recorded value of acquired assets, which truly reflects the acquisition cost of an asset. General taxpayers actually pay the purchase price, purchase fee and value-added tax when obtaining legal documents such as special invoices for value-added tax and tax payment vouchers. However, according to the requirement of separate accounting of price and tax stipulated in the accounting treatment of value-added tax, the purchase price and purchase fee are included in the commodity cost, and the value-added tax is included in the subject of "tax payable-value-added tax payable (input tax)", that is, the value-added tax and inventory cost are accounted for separately, and the commodity cost is only reflected as a part of the actual cost, which leads to the underestimation of the inventory cost.

(2) Violating the principle of comparability

From three aspects: first, from the perspective of a single general taxpayer, if a special VAT invoice is obtained when purchasing goods, its inventory cost does not include the paid VAT input tax; If an enterprise only obtains ordinary invoices or special invoices for value-added tax when purchasing, its inventory cost includes the paid value-added tax input. Some of the inventory of the same enterprise is accounted for separately according to the ad valorem tax, and some are accounted for together according to the ad valorem tax, so the inventory cost of the same enterprise is not without comparability. Second, judging from the relationship between ordinary taxpayers and small-scale taxpayers, if ordinary taxpayers obtain special VAT invoices that meet the requirements, they will separately account for the inventory cost according to the price tax; on the other hand, they will uniformly account for the inventory cost according to the price tax, while small-scale taxpayers will account for the inventory cost according to the price tax regardless of whether they obtain special VAT invoices, which leads to the lack of comparability of inventory valuation of different types of enterprises. Third, from the sales income of general taxpayers and small-scale taxpayers, if the tax-included sales are all 6,543,800 yuan, when the statistics are tax-free sales, the tax-free sales of general taxpayers are 854,700 yuan, and the tax-free sales of small-scale taxpayers are 943,400 yuan, which shows that the sales of different types of enterprises are also lack of comparability.

(three) does not meet the matching principle

The tax law stipulates that the determination principle of output tax is consistent with the confirmation principle of sales income in financial accounting, and the accrual basis is adopted. However, because the input tax is deducted from the output tax, its recognition does not follow the accrual basis, but follows the cash basis. Strictly speaking, it does not follow the cash basis, but a semi-cash basis. Because according to the current system, the input tax of special VAT invoices is deducted, industrial enterprises adopt the "cash on delivery deduction method", and commercial enterprises adopt the "payment deduction method". The payment deduction method reflects the cash basis, while the cash on delivery deduction method does not reflect any principles at all, so the confirmation principles of input tax and output tax are different, and the matching principle has not been really implemented. This makes the same tax basis implement two different principles, and the output tax does not match the input tax in the same period, which makes it difficult for people to judge whether the enterprise has calculated and paid the value-added tax reasonably from the logical relationship between sales revenue and value-added tax, thus greatly reducing the comparability and usefulness of accounting information. In addition, because the raw materials purchased in the current period are not necessarily consumed in the product cost sold in the current period, the value-added tax paid by the enterprise in each period is not the real value-added part of the enterprise.

(four) does not conform to the principle of fairness

First, considering the time value of money, the deduction time of input tax is different for different types of taxpayers (industrial enterprises adopt the "goods tax credit law" and commercial enterprises adopt the "goods tax credit law"); The actual tax burden of different types of taxpayers is different, and the tax burden of taxpayers who can deduct the input tax in advance is lighter than that of taxpayers who lag behind. Second, the handling of bad debts is unfair. "Accounting System for Enterprises" stipulates that enterprises should make provision for bad debts of accounts receivable at the end of the accounting period to reflect the principle of conservatism. However, according to the provisions of the tax law, it is extremely unreasonable not to deal with the output tax of value-added tax in bad debts, because once bad debts occur, enterprises will not only lose sales money, but also pay a lot of value-added tax for no reason, thus suffering double losses, while for buyers, they will gain double benefits, resulting in unfair treatment of taxpayers when paying taxes. Moreover, with the intensification of market competition, commercial credit will become more frequent, which will seriously affect the economic benefits of credit sales enterprises.

(five) does not conform to the principle of clarity

First, in some cases, the enterprise has delivered the ownership certificate or physical object to the buyer and received the payment in advance, but the main risks and rewards of commodity ownership have not been transferred. For example, the enterprise has not completed the installation or inspection of the sold goods, and this installation or inspection task is an important part of the sales contract. According to the income standard, it is impossible to confirm the realization of income. However, according to the tax law, the taxable sales of goods sold in advance should be confirmed and taxed on the day when the goods are issued, that is, the accounting work is value-added tax accounting, and only the accounting entries of advance receipt and issued goods are made: debit "bank deposit", credit "advance receipt", debit "issued goods" and credit "inventory goods" at the same time. After the goods are installed and passed the inspection, the income is recognized in accounting. At this time, advance accounts, bank deposits, etc. Debit "main business income" and credit "payable tax-payable value-added tax (output tax)". At the same time, debit the main business cost and credit the issued goods. This will make it difficult to fill in the tax return. On the one hand, it is necessary to analyze which businesses are not recognized as income in the current accounting, but must pay taxes in the current period according to the tax law; On the other hand, it is also necessary to analyze how many businesses in the current accounting income have been declared and taxed in the previous period and should be deducted. There are defects in the accounting treatment of value-added tax, which leads to the disconnection between accounts and tables. Second, the relevant expressions of value-added tax are not clear. "Regulations on Accounting Treatment of Value-added Tax" requires the preparation of a list of value-added tax payable as an annex to the balance sheet, and the tax law requires the preparation of a value-added tax return. The preparation of the two reports is the information reflecting the VAT payment activities. However, it does not list in detail the input tax of special invoices that have not been obtained according to the regulations, the input tax of special invoices that have not been kept according to the regulations, and the input tax that cannot be deducted because the special invoices issued by the seller do not meet the relevant regulations. The list of value-added tax payable also does not reflect the collection of out-of-price expenses and the output tax regarded as sales. The structure and content of this report are not convenient for the tax authorities to supervise taxpayers, nor for the relevant parties to understand the tax-related financial activities of enterprises.

The establishment of a new VAT accounting model needs to redesign VAT accounting treatment according to the basic accounting principles, so as to reduce or even eliminate the influence of tax law on VAT accounting treatment, but the new VAT accounting model must meet the information requirements of tax collection and management.

(a) to maintain the existing fiscal and tax integration, price and tax separation mode, and appropriately improve it.

Under the existing model, only the comparability of inventory cost can be improved. For ordinary taxpayers, when purchasing goods or receiving services, regardless of whether a special VAT invoice is obtained, the inventory cost is calculated by separating the price from the tax, and the VAT that cannot be deducted from the ordinary invoice can be recorded in the "management expenses" account. This is a constraint on enterprises and also conforms to the principle of cost accounting. Enterprises have no input tax deduction, which is an economic sanction, prompting enterprises to seriously use and manage special VAT invoices. In addition, the difference between the changed inventory and the export tax rebate is also recorded in the "management expenses" account when the input tax is transferred out. Similarly, small-scale taxpayers can also record the value-added tax in the subject of "management expenses".

(2) Change the "accrual basis" in VAT accounting into "cash basis"

It is suggested to cancel the provision of "goods tax credit" in tax laws and regulations. The input tax of all enterprises can only be deducted after actual payment, and the output tax can only be paid after receiving the payment. This can not only prevent taxpayers from using false invoices without actual transactions to declare deductions, but also provide relevant indicators for the preparation of cash flow statements. At present, the accounting principle of value-added tax abroad mostly adopts cash basis.

This fundamentally solves the contradiction between payment and tax payment. In order to solve this contradiction, China must speed up the pace of integration with international accounting standards. In order to correctly handle the difference between input tax and output tax confirmed by financial accounting under accrual basis and cash basis, two columns should be added under the subject of "tax payable-value-added tax payable" to account for unpaid input tax and unpaid output tax respectively.

When studying the accounting method, we should consider the stability of the tax system, that is, under the premise of the current tax system, we should not change or less the provisions of various tax elements, because changing these provisions will involve the reform of the tax system, not a simple accounting method.

1. Handling of credit purchase business. When buying goods or services on credit, the subjects such as raw materials, commodity procurement, management fees, etc. are debited according to the purchase price, and the subjects such as tax payable-value-added tax payable (to be transferred to input tax) are debited according to the value-added tax listed in the invoice. When actually paid, the paid input tax will be transferred from the credit in the column of "Input Tax to be Transferred" to the debit in the column of "Input Tax". When bad debt income occurs, the accounts payable shall be debited according to the total ad valorem tax, the non-operating income shall be credited according to the price, and the tax payable shall be credited according to the value-added tax that cannot be paid-the value-added tax payable (to be transferred to the input tax). At the end of the period, if there is a debit balance in the subject of "Taxes payable-VAT payable (input tax to be transferred)", it means the input tax that has not been carried forward and cannot be deducted.

2. Handling of credit sales business. When an enterprise sells goods or services on credit, it debits accounts receivable, notes receivable and other subjects according to the total ad valorem tax, credits the main business income and other business income and other subjects according to the sales price, and credits the tax payable-VAT payable (to be written off) according to the VAT listed in the invoice. When the payment is actually received, the received output tax amount will be transferred from the debit of the column of "Tax amount to be written off" to the credit of the column of "Tax amount to be written off". When bad debt losses occur, the subjects such as "management expenses" and "bad debt reserve" shall be debited according to the price, and the subjects such as "tax payable-value-added tax payable (tax to be written off)" shall be debited according to the unrecoverable output tax. Credit accounts receivable according to the total amount of ad valorem tax. At the end of the period, if there is a credit balance in the subject of "Taxes payable-VAT payable (taxes to be written off)", it means that the output tax has not been received. This treatment not only solves the contradiction between payment and tax payment, but also matches the output tax amount with the input tax amount in the same period, thus enhancing the comparability of accounting information. At the same time, it can also avoid the phenomenon that the buyer deducts the value-added tax in advance and the seller pays the tax in advance, and promote fair competition among enterprises.

(3) Accounting treatment of income time difference between income criterion and tax law.

The author thinks it is more appropriate to deal with deferred tax-value-added tax, that is, when goods are issued and received in advance, deferred tax-value-added tax is debited, tax payable-value-added tax (output tax) is credited, deferred tax is deducted when income is confirmed, accounts received in advance and bank deposits are debited, and main business income and bank deposits are credited. When preparing the "balance sheet", the balance of the "deferred tax" account should be analyzed. Among them, the balance of the "deferred value-added tax" detailed account is generally in the debit, which should be included in the "deferred tax debit" in the asset project.

(four) improve the content of the relevant statements of value-added tax.

In view of the unclear disclosure of the relevant statements of value-added tax, the author thinks that the details of input tax and output tax should be added to the relevant statements. In addition, two columns of "input tax to be transferred" and "tax to be sold" are added to the VAT payable list, and the debit balance of "tax payable-VAT payable (VAT payable)" and the credit balance of "tax payable-VAT payable (VAT payable)" are filled in these two columns respectively at the end of the period. This is not only helpful for enterprise investors and tax authorities to understand the tax payment of enterprises, but also helpful for relevant parties to understand the tax-related financial management activities of enterprises.

(5) Degrade the detailed accounts of the existing accounting VAT business.

After several adjustments, the detailed account of State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China accounting value-added tax business of People's Republic of China (PRC) Ministry of Finance has been increased from the detailed account of value-added tax payable in the past to three detailed accounts of value-added tax payable, unpaid value-added tax and value-added tax inspection and adjustment. The purpose of ledger accounting is to better distinguish the specific situations such as paid, surplus, unpaid, overpaid and tax owed in the current month, so as to prevent the phenomenon of paid and tax owed in the current month due to poor accounting; However, from the application situation, the actual application effect is very poor because of too many detailed accounts, too complicated accounting contents and unclear account attributes. Therefore, we should simplify the detailed account of the existing VAT business and merge the accounting contents of the detailed account of "VAT inspection and adjustment" into the detailed account of "Unpaid VAT". This degenerate adjustment can not only meet the relevant accounting requirements of value-added tax inspection, but also meet the accounting requirements of the "unpaid value-added tax" detailed account.