The phenomenon of tax avoidance – the essence, causes and measures (clauses) of prevention in the EU

Abstract

The problem of tax avoidance in the European Union (EU) has existed since the beginning of the EU internal market and is an important aspect at both the national and international levels. Among the most important reasons for this phenomenon are the inconsistent regulations and solutions applied in the tax systems of individual countries, the diverse and complicated nature of financial instruments and structures, the insufficient cooperation of tax administrations in EU countries or harmful tax competition. This state of affairs causes negative consequences for the budgets of individual countries and discriminates against honest taxpayers, because tax profits derived from tax evasion are invested in a competitive struggle against companies that reliably settle accounts with the tax authorities. The construction of an efficient and effective, yet fully fair tax system in the EU is intended to eliminate or significantly reduce the problem of tax avoidance. This is achieved by the measures currently underway (e.g. the introduction of a directive against tax avoidance or the elaboration by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regarding the recommendations for local administrations in the field of national tax regulations). This article aims to highlight the importance of the tax avoidance problem and to present selected actions to solve it at both the national and EU levels. The structure of the study has been subordinated to the above, as along with the applied research method, including the analytical and conceptual approach.