Suchergebnisse

De relatie tussen belastingen en maatschappelijke verantwoordelijkheid is complex. De belastingwet moet immers bepalen wat ieder geacht wordt te betalen, maar slaagt daar vaak niet goed in. Ook kan de wet in strijd komen met het rechtvaardigheidsgevoel. Wat betekent dat voor de verantwoordelijkheid van de belastingplichtige? Bovendien zet de belastingwetgever vaak juist bewust aan tot calculerend gedrag. De complexiteit van de tegenwoordige fiscale wet- en regelgeving biedt sommigen mogelijkheden een wel zeer voordelige fiscale weg te bewandelen. Het staat ieder vrij de voordeligste weg te kiezen, maar ergens is er een grens en is er sprake van onverantwoordelijk fiscaal gedrag. Nu de fiscaliteit onder een maatschappelijk en politiek vergrootglas ligt, is bezinning (extra) noodzakelijk. Deze inleiding biedt enige achtergrondinformatie om meer grip te krijgen op dat complexe fenomeen belastingen, de daaraan inherente maatschappelijke verantwoordelijkheid en de roep om betere fiscale governance en moreel verantwoord fiscaal gedrag (en advies). Ik bespreek eerst de diepere maatschappelijke betekenis, de rechtvaardiging, de functies en een aantal dimensies van belastingen. Aansluitend laat ik zien hoe belastingontwijkend gedrag, dat mede door de globalisering mogelijk wordt gemaakt, in het oog van de storm is geraakt. Dat leidde tot meer aandacht voor de morele aspecten van fiscaal gedrag en tax governance.

Taxpayers have to plan their tax affairs to plan their life or develop their business strategy. Often tax planning is encouraged and intended by tax legislation but sometimes it is not. By way of tax incentives, the tax legislator often tries to steer citizens' behaviour to achieve all kind of policy goals. This way the tax legislator stimulates taxpayers to adopt a calculating attitude towards the tax system, breeding a rule-based mindset focused on tax planning. This rule focus crowds out ethics. Taxpayers turn around the rules to their advantage. The tax legislator usually reacts with refined or new rules that add to the existing complexity of tax law. Companies endorsing corporate social responsibility (CSR) accept ethical obligations beyond compliance with the law. It is argued that these companies should agree that the interpretation and use of tax rules are based on a moral choice that rules out strictly complying with the letter of the law. CSR companies should even take one more step in endorsing the view that tax is a body of rules, which itself is grounded in principles that make up the internal morality of law. Therefore, they should take these principles seriously when engaging in tax planning.

Willem Witteveen promoted a communicative style of regulation with a focus on communication and dialogue between parties of more equal standing. The Dutch tax administration uses this approach to achieve voluntary compliance – supplementing the traditional command-and-control method of regulation. The underlying value of reciprocity entails a demand for good communication and even a dialogue between tax administration and taxpayers. Reciprocity here is at issue within the context of legal asymmetry, as the tax administration has considerable unilateral powers, and mutual dependence.Political and legal philosophers elucidate the notion of reciprocity. Spinoza shows the foundational nature of reciprocal collaboration between the sovereign lawmaker and legal subjects. Unlike Hobbes, he does not conceive reciprocity in a static way. More recently, Lon Fuller contrasted the idea of law based upon the principle of reciprocity with the command theory of law – a form of legal positivism.'Horizontal Monitoring' is a specific Dutch form of a communicative style of regulation. This contribution analyses several features of this kind of reciprocal interaction.

Fundamental legal principles may function as a check on legislative power protecting citizens against arbitrary interferences with their liberty. This contribution deals with the principle of equality and the principle of certainty. First, the testing of legislation against the principle of equality is presented as a case study of constitutional review. In the Netherlands, the constitutional dialogue between the legislator and the Dutch Supreme Court revolving around the principle of equality demonstrates a fair amount of subtle details. As a result, constitutional review can hardly be called an all or nothing affair.Secondly, retroactive tax legislation is dealt with. The legislator does seem to take the principle of legal certainty, another fundamental legal principle, quite seriously, although no testing of statutory legislation is possible by the courts. With regard to retroactive tax legislation the Government has committed itself in a memorandum, requested by Parliament, to adhere to rules of conduct with regard to different situations where it deems retroactive tax legislation to be justified. Thus, a soft law instrument facilitates a dialogue between different partners in the business of law-making.

Fundamental legal principles may function as a check on legislative power protecting citizens against arbitrary interferences with their liberty. This contribution deals with the principle of equality and the principle of certainty. First, the testing of legislation against the principle of equality is presented as a case study of constitutional review. In the Netherlands, the constitutional dialogue between the legislator and the Dutch Supreme Court revolving around the principle of equality demonstrates a fair amount of subtle details. As a result, constitutional review can hardly be called an all or nothing affair.Secondly, retroactive tax legislation is dealt with. The legislator does seem to take the principle of legal certainty, another fundamental legal principle, quite seriously, although no testing of statutory legislation is possible by the courts. With regard to retroactive tax legislation the Government has committed itself in a memorandum, requested by Parliament, to adhere to rules of conduct with regard to different situations where it deems retroactive tax legislation to be justified. Thus, a soft law instrument facilitates a dialogue between different partners in the business of law-making.