Taxation in the Soviet Union

[Comrade Trotsky]

What kind of taxation system was used in the Soviet Union? How did it work? I'v been looking around various parts of the internet, and I keep getting different answers eveywhere I look.

Also

How were wages determined, and what was the income of the average citizen?

Thanks :)

[Mashaka]

Comrade Trotsky,

I'll look for a couple books I have on the matter, and see if I can't find some specific info (with references etc.). That's probably more useful than giving inexact or uncertain info off the top of my head, and then double-checking my sources anyway. I'm new to the forum, so I'm not in good habits; if I don't respond again promptly feel free to PM or e-mail to remind me I was supposed to be finding those books.

Mashaka

[Die Neue Zeit]

Some form of value-added taxation was implemented via a turnover tax.

[Comrade Trotsky]

Thanks for the info so far. I'v ran myself insane scouring the web, looking for information on how wages were determined, what the average citizen made, taxation, ect, but got nada.

One would think that sort of info wouldn't be so hard to find :(

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

The average workers, around 1979, made 100-200 roubles. The higher ups in government and the arts made (off the top of my head) 600-800 roubles at most, with engineers, scientists etc. making in between.

Can't remember the source, but it was a scientific investigation into the wage structure and inequality in the Soviet Union in the late 1970s.

[runequester]

Wages did indeed vary depending on the job you held, though as pointed out, the spread wasn't as large as we might expect in the west.

This obviously fluctuated over the course of 70 years, but as a rule of thumb, food stuff's were generally very cheap, rent was extremely cheap, public transportation and arts (museums, plays) were very cheap as well.

Luxury and consumer goods were expensive and you had to save or wait on a list. This got better during Brezhnev.

Under Gorbachev, you pretty much ended up waiting even for essentials, as the distribution system collapsed under Perestroika.