Author(s) Cláudia Beatriz Morais Afonso
Advisor(s) Joaquim Freitas Rocha
Year 2015
Synopsis This thesis aims to address the issue of tax planning, which is a highly relevant topic in any society in which tax revenues constitute the main source of state funding. Taking into account the socio-economic context and the fiscal policies adopted in recent years, it is useful to turn our attention to this issue. If it is characteristic of human beings for their decisions to be worked out in order to gain an advantage, it is all the more so in a time of economic crisis, which justifies us developing the stated theme of tax planning. We must at the outset distinguish between acceptable tax planning and other forms, such as tax evasion and fraud. But the distinction does not seem totally clear, as there are differences to be taken into consideration, at doctrinal, sociological and jurisprudential levels. The issue of decisions taken with tax consequences in mind has attracted much attention in Portuguese and foreign doctrine, but an approach that takes into account the repercussions of Family Law has not yet been adopted in our legal system, although it is relevant because families adopt various forms of behaviour with fiscal implications. We must address the various family legal relationships which offer scope for tax planning or evasion. Having done this, we will review in concrete terms, with respect to these family legal relations, the boundaries between what can be considered as tax planning and what is by contrast evasive behaviour, in order to make it clear to taxpayers what behaviours may be adopted in order to obtain a tax saving, distinguishing these from prohibited practices.. We close with a reflection designed to help us understand whether or not certain positions on tax matters broached in the course of the dissertation, such as the choice of tax regime or tax incentives to giving birth, conflict with the principle of fiscal neutrality.
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Author(s) Cláudia Beatriz Morais Afonso
Advisor(s) Joaquim Freitas Rocha
Year 2015
Synopsis This thesis aims to address the issue of tax planning, which is a highly relevant topic in any society in which tax revenues constitute the main source of state funding. Taking into account the socio-economic context and the fiscal policies adopted in recent years, it is useful to turn our attention to this issue. If it is characteristic of human beings for their decisions to be worked out in order to gain an advantage, it is all the more so in a time of economic crisis, which justifies us developing the stated theme of tax planning. We must at the outset distinguish between acceptable tax planning and other forms, such as tax evasion and fraud. But the distinction does not seem totally clear, as there are differences to be taken into consideration, at doctrinal, sociological and jurisprudential levels. The issue of decisions taken with tax consequences in mind has attracted much attention in Portuguese and foreign doctrine, but an approach that takes into account the repercussions of Family Law has not yet been adopted in our legal system, although it is relevant because families adopt various forms of behaviour with fiscal implications. We must address the various family legal relationships which offer scope for tax planning or evasion. Having done this, we will review in concrete terms, with respect to these family legal relations, the boundaries between what can be considered as tax planning and what is by contrast evasive behaviour, in order to make it clear to taxpayers what behaviours may be adopted in order to obtain a tax saving, distinguishing these from prohibited practices.. We close with a reflection designed to help us understand whether or not certain positions on tax matters broached in the course of the dissertation, such as the choice of tax regime or tax incentives to giving birth, conflict with the principle of fiscal neutrality.
See more here.