Self-employment in the Regional Aspect: Issues of Regulating the Social and Legal Status

The article analyzes the systemic problems of legislative regulation of self-employment in the modern legal system of the Russian Federation. The study examines self-employment as a socio-economic phenomenon that arose at the intersection of civil, labor and tax law, and identifies fundamental contradictions in its legal design. The main attention is paid to the analysis of systemic shortcomings: the lack of a clear legal status of the self-employed, gaps in social protection, legal uncertainty, as well as insufficient state control over the quality of services provided. Particular emphasis is placed on a study of the regional experience of the Republic of Buryatia, where a focus group, “Self-Employment in the Republic of Buryatia: Status, Problems, and Prospects”, was held. The results of this study have revealed the practical difficulties faced by the self-employed. The paper emphasizes that the current model of legislative regulation of self-employment is experimental in nature and primarily solves the problem of increasing tax revenues, ignoring social and legal aspects. In conclusion, it is concluded that there is a need for systemic legislative reform, which should ensure a balance between the interests of the state, self-employed citizens and consumers of services, creating conditions for the sustainable development of this form of economic activity as a full-fledged element of the legal system.