Job requirements for tax inspectors: legislative framework and reality (based on the materials of the Pskov Governorate)

The paper considers the requirements of the laws of the Russian Empire for tax inspectors and the implementation of these requirements in practice. The duties and responsibilities of the assistant inspectors are quite well researched in the modern scientific literature. However, the researchers of the issue have not revealed the real state of situation, concerning these civil servants. The main attention of this work is focused on the information contained in the «Regulations on the establishment of the position of tax inspectors of April 30, 1885» and in the «Highest approved Regulations on tax inspectors and their assistants of May 24, 1899». These laws thoroughly describe the competencies that tax inspectors should have when they began their service, and whether they had an appropriate rank for the applied position. Meanwhile, while studying commemorative books and materials from the State Archive of the Pskov Region (SAPR), it turned out that not all of them had the required rank or education level. Most of the inspectors who applied were well below the required rank, and a certain number of employees did not have proper education to hold the post. Subsequently, they could (and did) raise these statuses, but the practice of hiring a person (people), taking a lower position than it was formally needed, requires detailed consideration and explanation.