Causes of Impunity and Causes for the Reduction of Penalties in Case of Committing the Crime of Tax Evasion

• Author: Manea, A.C.
• Position: Law Faculty, Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 115-120

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braúov • Vol. 5 (54) No. 1 - 2012

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law

CAUSES OF IMPUNITY AND CAUSES FOR

THE REDUCTION OF PENALTIES IN CASE

OF COMMITTING THE CRIME OF TAX

EVASION

Adrian C. MANEA1

Abstract : The offenses of tax evasion are associated with a high degree of

social danger due to the immediate economic consequences but also to the long-

term consequences on local or national budget, reason for which the legislature

has chosen high limits for prison sentences in Law no. 241/2005. Nevertheless,

several causes of impunity respectively causes for the reduction of sentences

are settled in case of offenses of tax evasion. Starting from the closely

resembling criminal institutions the provisions of article 10, article 11 and

article 12 of law No. 241/2005 do not represent true causes of impunity or

reduction of sentences. The provisions contained in Chapter III of the Law

no.241/2005 are new compared to the previous settlements of Law no.87/1994,

but such a new regulation is useful and appropriate, since on the one hand, it

liaises with other laws concerning the commercial area where we can find

evasion, and on the other hand, the legislator settles over punishments in case of

offering total compensation for the damage caused by all evasion.

Keywords: tax evasion, punishment, causes reduction sentences, causes of

impunity, criminal record

1 Law Faculty, Transilvania University of Brasov.

1. Introduction

Regarding the structure of Chapter III of

Law no.241/2005 on prevention and

combating tax evasion (article 10, article

11 and article 12), criticisms and

comments of the authors as well as the

jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court

are numerous and constant with regard to

interpretation.

Thus, starting from the heading of

Chapter III of the law, "Causes of impunity

and causes for reduction of punishment",

the criticism of the authors[1] is constant in

the sense that the three articles contained

in this chapter (with the exception of some

regulations of article 10) have no relation

to establishing some of the extenuating

circumstances within the meaning of the

regulations of the penal code[2].

Furthermore, we can observe in the text of

article 11 of the law that the issue refers to

taking precautionary measures, thus, the

legislator lays down certain incompatibili-

ties regarding the persons having been

convicted for crimes of tax evasion, as

settled by article 12.