Fiscal crime in Serbia

Abstract

There are various forms of attacks against the fiscal interests of the state, which, according to the current legislation, are gaining the character of criminal offences. In some states, there is a tendency of increase in number of fiscal criminal offences, which is the result of multiplication of illegal activities aiming at avoidance of payment of fiscal revenues. Changes in the development of state finances lead also to changes in the field of incriminations - over time some of them disappear and the others emerge. This phenomenon disturbs the allocation of revenues in relation to the goals set by the society. This creates difficulties in accurate defining of economic sizes necessary for determining the economic policy, that is, for implementing the adequate economic measures and instruments. It reduces, in some cases even drastically, the state revenues. Besides, given that this phenomenon pervades the entire economy, it prevents bearers of the economic policy from getting the accurate picture of what is happening in the national economy. Fiscal crime is a phenomenon that has various consequences, both on the fiscal plan (because planned resources do not arrive in the budget) and the socio-political plan (because it violates the principle of horizontal equity), and behaviors that are directed towards the avoidance of tax payment often violate some social values, which must cause an appropriate reaction - either on moral or legal grounds.

Postoje raznovrsni oblici napada na fiskalne interese države koji, prema pozitivnom zakonodavstvu, dobijaju karakter krivičnih dela. U nekim državama prisutna je tendencija povećanja broja fiskalnih krivičnih dela, što je odraz sve većeg umnožavanja nezakonitih radnji s ciljem da se izbegne plaćanje fiskalnih prihoda. Promene u razvoju državnih finansija dovode i do promena u oblasti inkriminacija, tako što vremenom neke od njih odumiru, a druge nastaju. Ova pojava remeti raspodelu dohodka u odnosu na ciljeve koje društvo želi da ostvari. To stvara teškoće u vezi sa tačnim definisanjem veličina nužnih za određivanje ekonomske politike, odnosno za sprovođenje odgovarajućih privrednih mera i instrumenata. Ona smanjuje, u nekim slučajevima čak drastično, prihode državnog fiskusa. Osim toga, pošto ova pojava prožima celokupnu ekonomiju, ona sprečava nosioce ekonomske politike da imaju tačnu sliku o tome šta se događa u nacionalnoj privredi. Fiskalni kriminalitet predstavlja fenomen koji ima raznovrsne posledice, kako na fiskalnom planu (jer u budžet ne pristižu planirana sredstva), tako i na socijalno-političkom (jer ugrožava princip horizontalne pravičnosti), a ponašanja koja su usmerena na to da se porez ne plati često narušavaju neke društvene vrednosti, što mora da povuče odgovarajuću reakciju - bilo na moralnom, bilo na pravnom terenu.