The formal characteristics of taxation refer to the basic sign that distinguishes tax as a form of fiscal revenue from other forms of fiscal revenue. It is the inherent appearance characteristic of taxation itself. Specifically, it refers to the mandatory and free nature of taxation. sex and fixity. 1) Compulsory taxation Compulsory taxation means that taxation is obtained through compulsory collection by state power. The state determines the rights and obligations between the government as a tax collector and members of society as taxpayers in legal form. All organizations and individuals must fulfill their tax obligations in accordance with the law, otherwise they will be punished by law. No matter what kind of society, the reason why taxation has become a powerful form of fiscal revenue is that it is guaranteed by law. This compulsory nature of taxation is significantly different from other forms of fiscal revenue such as public debt revenue, fee revenue, and public property revenue. The reason why taxation is mandatory is determined by the distribution nature of taxation as compensation for the value of public products. Since the public goods provided by the government are non-exclusive and non-competitive, members of society will not pay voluntarily when consuming public goods. The government can only make public goods available through mandatory taxation. *The value of the product is compensated. 2) The gratuitous nature of taxation The gratuitous nature of taxation means that after the state levies taxes, it neither needs to repay nor pay any remuneration to taxpayers. That is what Lenin said: "The so-called tax means that the state obtains things from the residents without paying any compensation." ("The Complete Works of Lenin", Volume 32, Page 275, the gratuitous nature of taxation is as far as the government and specific taxpayers are concerned , the relationship between the rights and obligations of the two is unequal. The government levies taxes on taxpayers, not based on the specific provision of public products and public services; and the taxpayers pay taxes to the government, nor is it based on specific sharing of public funds. As far as the gratuitous nature of taxation is concerned, taxation is obviously different from other forms of financial revenue. For example, when the state issues public bonds and obtains debt income, the state acts as The debtor has a direct repayment relationship with the bond holder, that is, the income from the public debt is paid, and the principal and interest must be paid on time. The fee income also reflects a paid nature, which is based on the premise that the state agency provides certain services to the residents. The free nature of taxation is determined by the free distribution of finance. National fiscal expenditure reflects the material resources consumed by the state in the process of realizing its public functions. Financial expenditure is distributed free of charge, so the state obtains it by virtue of its political power. The fiscal revenue used for this kind of expenditure - taxation, can only be gratuitous. 3) The fixed nature of taxation. The fixed nature of taxation means that the state prescribes the objects of taxation and the proportion or amount of taxation through legal forms, and Implement taxes based on predetermined standards. Once the tax law is promulgated and implemented, both parties who collect and pay the tax must strictly abide by it. Taxpayers must pay taxes in accordance with the law, and no evasion or default is allowed. Tax authorities must collect taxes in accordance with the law and may not lower or raise the collection standards at will. The fixed nature of taxation is not only conducive to the normal development of taxpayers' production and business activities, but also conducive to the stability of national fiscal revenue. At the same time, the legal constraints on both parties to the collection and collection are also in line with the requirements of market economic development. It should be pointed out that the fixed nature of taxation cannot be misunderstood to mean that taxable objects and levy proportions are always fixed. In fact, with the development and changes of social productivity and production relations, the objects of taxation are constantly changing. For example, the objects of taxation cannot be the same during the natural economy period and the commodity economy period. However, it must be pointed out that adjustments and changes in taxable objects and collection ratios must always be stipulated in advance through legal forms, and must be relatively stable within a certain period of time. Therefore, the fixed character of taxes is relative. The above three formal characteristics of taxation are the general characteristics of taxation and are the unique characteristics of taxation under any social system. At the same time, these three characteristics are an indispensable unified whole and are the basic signs that distinguish taxation from other fiscal revenue. It is also the basic criterion for identifying whether a fiscal revenue is a tax. To determine whether a fiscal revenue is a tax, you cannot look at its name or use other criteria. You can only judge whether it has these three formal characteristics at the same time. A tax that has these three characteristics at the same time is a tax, otherwise it cannot be counted as a tax.