Sekundarni povzetek: |
In this master’s thesis, we examine the tax write-off institute (legislation) of the past due tax liabilities as an instrument of a social welfare policy. Due to specific characteristics of tax legislation, we are pondering some well-grounded reasons to rearrange the tax write-off institute in a separate body of law (lex specialis). Traditionally, this institute represents a part of the present Tax Procedure Act (abbr.: TPA, in Slovene: ZDavP-2), while the Slovene legislator proposed the tax write-off to be included in special body of regulations, namely as a parallel form of institute of the write-off during the tax procedure. The tax write-off can be a consequence of an objective circumstance, upon which the TPA anticipates a tax write-off due to expiration of tax liability (e.g. tax write-off due to tax uncollectibility as a result of death of the taxpayer, or expiration of the legal person, recovery rights termination, closure of the insolvency proceedings by the final judicial decision, or final decision by the court regarding dismissal of tax liability, etc.). In these cases, the tax write-off is performed by official duty without previous decision by the tax authority; the procedure of the tax write-off can be put into effect if there is existence of circumstance, which can trigger the termination of taxation liability. The other form of tax write-off is performed due to endangerment of livelihood. This procedure is realized upon request of the customer (taxpayer), who is unable to perform his/her tax duty due to subjective circumstance (social position, health condition, accident, etc.). In case of endangerment of livelihood, the subsequent tax write-off is a measure in accordance with the basic principles of the social welfare state. The measure is being realized due to state’s deliberate denouncement of general government revenue through taxation, in order to reduce social vulnerability of economically disadvantaged citizens, whose existence and existence of their closest family members would be in even greater jeopardy should the taxation process be performed in full. Nevertheless, the tax authority cannot approve the tax write-off, which could be attributed to endangerment of livelihood, even though all legal conditions for the write-off are met. In some cases, the methods of tax write-off procedure are provisioned in special body of law, whose purpose is a one-time only economic and/or social measure. The latter type of such measures is envisioned in the Conditions for the Implementation of Debt Forgiveness Act (abbr. CIDF, in Slovene: ZPIUOD) that provides a procedure of write-off of the past due tax obligations. Essential objective of this law is an immediate unburdening of socially weakest individuals in sense of writing off their unsettled civil law obligations (housekeeping expenses, supplementary health insurance, costs of banking services, etc.) and writing off pending public law claims (tax obligations). We have thoroughly examined the so-called abbreviated procedure of the write-off of the past due tax obligations due to endangerment of livelihood, as provisioned by the CIDF. Our findings confirm the existence of many restrictions and limitations that have in comparison to the existing legislation, as provisioned by the TPA, proved rather stern and led to a subsequent inefficiency of this measure in practice. To conclude, in this master’s thesis, we have thoroughly examined the tax write-off (regular form of the write-off, as well as the abbreviated procedure of the same measure), specifically from the theoretical judicial aspect, in broader context of the established case-law, and in comparison to the tax write-off legislation of the Republic of Croatia. |