Implementation of Agricultural Tax Among Collective Farmers of the Urals in the Second Half of the 1930s

The relevance of the study of agricultural taxation of the collective farm peasantry is due to the fact that at present there are still not enough scientific publications on this problem, which is important for historical, economic and legal sciences. It is necessary not only to analyze the legislation on agricultural tax, but also to reveal the nuances of its practical implementation among collective farmers. Experience of taxation in the 1930s. in such a large region as the Greater Urals will be of interest to scientists engaged in similar research in other areas of the country. The object of study is the Ural collective farmers, and partly, before the introduction of income tax in 1936, collective farms, and the subject is the legislation on agricultural tax and its impact on the real economic opportunities of collective farm households to ensure the normal existence of the family. The time frame of the study is determined by the second half of the 1930s, when collectivization was completed and most of the taxation fell on the collective farm peasantry. The purpose of the article is to use new sources and approaches to systematize the available material and identify the peculiarities of taxation of collective farmers in the Urals. The work used general scientific methods, as well as comparative, historical-genetic, statistical and others. The study showed that during the period of economic modernization, with the help of the agricultural tax, issues of strengthening the state budget were resolved, part of which was directed to the needs of the village. For collective farmers, in the conditions of constant growth not only in agricultural taxes, other payments and in-kind duties, they had to experience difficulties in the family budget. The restrictions of the Charter of the agricultural artel did not allow the personal farmstead to develop to its full potential. Attempts by collective farmers to devote more time to their farming and to expand crops were resolutely suppressed, especially in the late 1930s. Not all collective farmers could withstand the hardships of collective farm life with a low assessment of their work and high duties, so some of them left the collective farm, joining the number of individual farmers, state farm workers, and city workers.