A Greek word that reached Latin as a basis derived, in our language, from the concept of base. Although it has several uses, in this case we are interested in keeping its meaning as the foundation or foundation of something.
Imponible, meanwhile, is an adjective that comes from the verb to impose. The term qualifies what can be taxed with some type of tribute or tax.
With these ideas clear, it is possible to advance in the the tax base. The expression is used in the field of economics to refer to the amount that expresses a certain economic capacity, on which the payment of tax obligations is established.
It can be said that the tax base is a quantity 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.
According to DigoPaul, the taxable event, in short, is what originates 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 assets of the subject.
Methods of estimating the tax base
First, we have direct estimation, a general method that is used to determine the taxable base of most taxes in many tax systems. In general, it is applied by the taxpayer himself when he presents his self-assessments.
One of the characteristics of this procedure is that there is a real correspondence between the tax base and its corresponding mediation, 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 consigned in the books and the declarations of the taxpayer.
On the other hand, there is the objective estimation, 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 arises.
This method of estimating the tax base is dedicated to the small and medium enterprises. The measurement of economic capacity is less related to reality, since the calculations are based on modules, signs and general coefficients that the Administration sets on an annual basis.
Finally we have the indirect estimate, an exceptional way of quantifying the tax base, by means of 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.
To be able to resort to the indirect estimate, certain conditions must occur, such as that the person does not submit their statements, that they do so inaccurately or incompletely, that they resist inspection, that obstructs their development, or that fail to comply with your registration and accounting obligations. The means used to determine the tax base in this case are of the index type, that is, they derive from certain indications and not from well-defined data.
