The (in)utility of art. 4 of Law no. 241/2005 for preventing and combating tax evasion

Abstract

Tax evasion is a constant problem of the Romanian state. Therefore, out of the desire to prevent and combat this phenomenon, it resorted to the incrimination of a conduct relatively related to tax evasion itself. This paper aims to analyse one of the related offences, specifically art. 4 of Law no. 241/2005.

Starting from the reason for the incrimination, this article aims to analyse the crime provided by art. 4 from the perspective of its entire content, namely: the material and legal object, the objective and subjective side, as well as the persons likely to commit such an act. Considering the abundant case-law in the matter, I analysed the crime from the perspective of the applicable punishment, and finally, of its relationship with another crime of tax evasion, but also with the crime of obstruction of justice provided for by the Criminal Code.

The final section of this study also presents a de lege ferenda proposal, which could be much more effective in the process of preventing and combating tax evasion.