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• Detrimental effects of tax havens and the case of the Dutch tax system

  45-67

  Tamás Zoltán Wágner

  Views:

  255

  Nowadays, multinationals have become so strong that they can easily compete with states. Consequently, they have the opportunity to develop several tax minimalization strategies such as transfer pricing, inversion, hybrid entities etc. All these have a negative impact on the world economy and state budgets. Despite detrimental effects, certain countries try to cooperate with multinationals by transforming themselves into tax havens. In this framework, they provide multinationals with various kinds of tax advantages such as deductions, low tax rates and preferential tax rulings (“sweetheart deals”). Although, the general attitude towards tax avoidance in the European Union is negative, particular member states’ tax systems display several characteristics of tax havens. In this regard, it should be noted that multinationals regularly use the loopholes and other advantages of the Dutch tax system to minimise their tax liability. The following study – after a brief view to the characteristics of tax havens– will illustrate these options by highlighting the fact that the country – despite the denial of the respective governments – still displays several characteristics of - tax havens.

• The Interpretation of Tax Law in the Precedents of the United States of America

  Zsolt Pfeffer

  Views:

  224

  The proper interpretation of the legal provisions in the field of tax law has high importance because it determines the opportunities of the taxpayers.  Taxpayers normally wish to pay as little tax as possible, in contrast, the tax authorities try to collect as much tax as, according to them, is still lawful. If a taxpayer makes an error in his legal interpretation, he has to face the legal consequences, that is why it is necessary to know the case law. In the English law and in the law of the United States, two fundamental approaches of the interpretation of tax law have emerged: according to the strict approach, the judicature has to scrutinize only the meaning of the words of the act and that is what determines the question of the tax burden. On the other hand, the other approach means that the purpose of the questionable transaction or the intention of the legislator shall be taken into consideration as well, but only in that case in which the application of the words would lead to an unreasonable result. This paper analyzes the relevant precedents of the United States, mentioning many examples and scrutinizes the theoretical bases and the application of the two approaches mentioned.

• Legal Theory Bases and the Place of Corporate Tax in Tax Policy

  153-179

  Zsolt Pfeffer

  Views:

  208

  Corporate tax is basically aimed at taxing the income from the business activities of companies (and other enterprises, legal entities). The general characteristics of this type of tax, legal theories of its application, political and economic approaches, as well as the main legislative and enforcement problems can be examined. Each country has different regulations and approaches, but the main features are the same. Accordingly, the study discusses the place, role and general characteristics of corporate tax in tax policy, primarily from a legal point of view, also addressing some economic issues and the relationship between dividend tax and corporate tax.

• The Question and the Means of Tax Liquidity in Tax Law System

  128-150

  Zsolt Pfeffer

  Views:

  118

  The paper scrutinizes the definition, the general and the legal characteristics of tax liquidity. It is a very essential question as to whether taxable persons have enough money to fulfill the obligation of taxpaying, secure their abilities to pay taxes in the future. The tax liquidity can be analyzed specially in the field of duties, ordinary and extraordinary taxes of wealth and natural justice. The legislator can regulate different legal institutions to fulfill the requirement of tax liquidity: it can prescribe for example various allowances, the possibility of deduction or it can ensure different possibilities in the field of fairness.

• In Contrast: Responsibility for Environment and Regulation in Finance

  128-155

  Ildikó Bartha

  Péter Bordás

  Tamás Horváth M.

  Views:

  258

  The more environmental policy comes into the focus of fiscal policies of governments, the more prevailing are the interests in it influencing the governance as a whole. In the context of the European Union, the governmental role of the Member States’ increased less for initiating the (often invoked) environmental protection but such an increase is rather an end in itself. The responsibility for environment seems to represent the bright side, while the reality of financial regulations shows the dark side of government priorities.

• Discretion in Taxation Procedures

  107-130

  Zsolt Pfeffer

  Views:

  134

  Besides decisions conditioned by law we have to examine decisions based on discretion as well. If vested by law with discretionary powers, the tax authority shall exercise such rights as consistent with the purpose of authorization and within the framework of law. It is very important how the framework is defined by the legislator and what kind of facts are taken into consideration in the discretion process (e.g. the nature and willfulness of violation). Discretion process must be separated from fairness, estimation, practice and interpretation of the law. In connection with remedy the extension and the detail of explanation in the resolution has high importance. The persuasion of the taxpayer is also a relevant question to investigate.

• The Ecclesiastical Percentage(s)

  62-79

  Bernadett Szilágyi

  Views:

  98

  Church financing is a multiple system. One of its elements, introduced in 1997, consists of taxpayers’ offer which is a determined part of their personal income tax. The study examines the regulation of tax management from the perspective of taxpayers and beneficiaries. This method of financing has an important budgetary consequence, i.e. the budget completes the sum of the allocation of personal income tax for Churches to a specified extent. The study examines several contradictions with respect to the application of this financing method.

• Environmental Tax Harmonisation and Market-Oriented Legal Regulation in the Light of the CJEU Practice

  95-117

  Dániel Deák

  Views:

  181

  The subject of the present paper is the explanation and justification of environmental taxes in general terms and, in particular, the assessment of the recent european trends as well as the examination of the practice of the EU Court of Justice followed in this field. The paper considers ecotaxes as the means of fiscal policy that can be put into the service of green growth. For the time being, the enforcement of ecological policy is restricted in many aspects within the EU framework, being unilaterally subordinated to the requirement of free competition. For this reason, the EU law mechanisms of adjustment may get stuck in cases where intervention is not necessary in order to have more but, on the contrary, to have less freedom of market. Since it can be considered as obvious from the perspective of thermodynamic restraints that market imperfections cannot be precluded, the possible aim of intervention is certainly not the reconstruction of free trade, but the suspension of the laws of market. The political and legal basis for this is still missing in the European Union both in theory and practice what can be seen as a serious problem.

• Fairness in the Taxation System

  52-66

  Csaba Szilovics

  Views:

  139

  Studying the fairness of taxation is not separable from the general emergence of the social fairness, but some features of its own could be determined. In this paper I examined the problem of the fairness of taxation and drew up the details of the optimal tax system. One single chapter was devoted to the analysis of the relation between the notion of fairness and equity and another was devoted to the analysis of the question of sameness, which is necessary for the understanding of the fairness of taxation.

• Two saddles by one bottom only? The road transport regulation of the European Union concerning energy efficiency and energy conservation

  23-34

  Orsolya Bányai

  Views:

  113

  This article analyses and criticises regulation of the European Union (hereinafter: EU) in the field of energy consumption of road transport sector from ecological point of view. Three main regulatory tools are in the focus: EU CO2 -emissions requirements, energy efficiency labelling of vehicles and passenger car related taxes (Annual Circulation Taxes, Registration Tax). Changes are proposed in order to develop the efficiency of this EU level regulation.