Selected issues of abuse of rights in the tax system of the Republic of Croatia

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the abuses of rights in the Croatian tax system committed by members of capital companies, which were identified during tax supervision. In the context of the above, it should be emphasized that in the Republic of Croatia, in accordance with applicable legislation, members of capital companies are generally not liable for the obligations of the company, which resulted in the possibility of members of these companies to commit a number of abuses. Thus, during tax inspections in the Republic of Croatia, the occurrence of establishing new companies with the aim of transferring profits to them after the previous company over-indebtedness which resulted in the company’s inability to settles its short-term and long-term financial obligations to creditors. In order to achieve the purpose of the paper, the authors analyze the legal framework of the Republic of Croatia and its compliance with European Union regulations in the context of abuse of rights in the tax system and the responsibilities of members of capital companies. Special attention is paid to the analysis of individual cases of abuse and their perception through the prism of decisions of Croatian and European courts. In the conclusion of the paper, the authors present suggestions and recommendations for improving the detected problems. Methodologically, the authors collected relevant data in the text using analysis and synthesis, and in the preparation of the paper used a comparative method, inductive and deductive method, and the method of compilation.

Keywords

• abuse of rights
• companies
• fictitious legal transactions
• tax control