Legal regulation of the fight against and prevention of tax evasion by ways of legislative delegation. Constitutional limits

• Author: Agata Mihaela Popescu
• Position: Facutly of Juridical and Administrative Sciences 'Dimitrie Cantemir' Christian University, Bucharest, Romania
• Pages: 132-140

AGORA International Journal of Juridical Sciences, www.juridicaljournal.univagora.ro

ISSN 1843-570X, E-ISSN 2067-7677

No. 1 (2014), pp. 132-140

132

LEGAL REGULATION OF THE FIGHT AGAINST AND PREVENTION

OF TAX EVASION BY WAYS OF LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION.

CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS

A. M. Popescu, I. Cochinu

Agata Mihaela Popescu

Facutly of Juridical and Administrative Sciences

“Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University, Bucharest, Romania

* Correspondence: Agata Mihaela Popescu, 129 Şoseaua O lteniei St., Sector 4, Bucharest,

Romania

E-mail: av.agata@yahoo.com

Ionia Cochinu

Assistant Magistrate at the Constitutional Court of Romania,

PhD Candidate at the West University of Timisoara,

Faculty of Law, Timişoara, Romania

Abstract

Citizens have an obligation to contribute, through taxes and fees, to public

expenditure, as regulated by law, but there are situations where payers of fees, taxes or other

contributions avoid paying them, which leads to tax evasion1.

Over time, the lawmaker was concerned with adopting rules meant to establish specific

measures for fighting against and preventing tax evasion, especially in the context of

Romania's integration in the European Union. In the present wok, in addition to presenting

the implementation at infraconstitutional level of the rules of the Basic Law and the legislative

dynamics of the rules that have governed this area, we are trying to answer the natural

question of whether the criminalization of tax evasion acts can be achieved by way of

legislative delegation, namely by simple or emergency ordinances of the Government or it can

only be done by “law” as an act of Parliament.

Keywords: tax evasion, legislative delegatio n, taxes and fees, state budget,

constitutional review, law.

Introduction

1. Introductory and Legislative Issues

Romania’s economy is a market economy2, based on free enterprise and competition,

the need for the state to ensure the protection of f air competition, the establishment of a

favourable framework for putting to use all factors of production, as well as the protection of

national interests in the economic, financial and currency activity. Also, citizens have an

obligation to contribute, through taxes3 and fees, to public expenditure4.

1 According to Article 1 of Law No. 87 of 18th October 1994 on tax evasion, published in the Official Journal of

Romania, Part I, no. 299 of 24th October, “Tax evasion is the avoidance by any means, in whole or in part, of

payment of taxes, fees and other amounts owed to the state budget, local budgets, the state social insurance

budget and special extra-budgetary funds by Romanian or foreign natural persons and legal entities, hereinafter

called taxpayers”.

2 As stated in the Romanian Constitution in Article 135 - “Economy”.

3 îrlea M. R., Fiscalitate, Manual de studiu individual (Taxation, A Self-Study Handbook), p.5.

4 According to Article 56 of the Romanian Constitution.