Seizure or taxation of illegal income: Example of drug trafficking

Abstract

The criminal offence of tax evasion is most frequently perpetrated by giving false data on the acquired income and failure to report acquired incomes, as defined in our criminal legislation. A linguistic analysis of the Criminal Code provision which defines this offence can lead to a conclusion that the income subject to taxation can be obtained either lawfully or unlawfully since the legislator does not take a stand regarding this issue. Namely, the 2016 amendments to the Criminal Code deleted the term 'legal' from the legal description of the criminal offence of tax evasion. However, this does not mean that the incomes acquired unlawfully can be subject to taxation, as the paper elaborates in detail. The author explores jurisprudence regarding the imposition of the security measure of the seizure of objects and the measure of seizure material gains in criminal matters related to the criminal offence of illegal production and circulation of narcotic as per Article 246 of the CC. In this way, we shall establish whether these measures are effectively implemented and whether they allow for seizing the incomes obtained from drug trafficking. A portion of this paper will be dedicated to the reasons for and against taxation of illegally obtained revenues. In addressing this problem, the author shall rely on the US practice, wherein proceeds from unlawful sources are subject to taxation.

Krivično delo poreska utaja se najčešće ostvaruje davanjem lažnih podataka o stečenim prihodima i neprijavljivanjem stečenih prihoda, proizlazi iz našeg krivičnog zakonodavstva. Gramatičkim tumačenjem odredbe krivičnog zakonika koja propisuje ovo krivično delo može se zaključiti da prihodi koji se oporezuju mogu biti stečeni na zakonit i nezakonit način, jer se zakonodavac ne izjašnjava u pogledu ovog problema. Naime, izmenama i dopunama krivičnog zakonodavstva iz 2016. godine iz zakonskog opisa krivičnog dela poreska utaja brisana je reč 'zakonito'. Međutim, to ne znači da se mogu oporezovati nezakonito stečeni prihodi, što će u radu biti detaljno obrazloženo. Izvršićemo istraživanje sudske prakse u pogledu izricanja mere bezbednosti oduzimanje predmeta i mere oduzimanja imovinske koristi u krivičnim stvarima koje se odnose na krivično delo neovlašćena proizvodnja i stavljanje u promet opojnih droga iz člana 246 KZ. Na taj način ćemo utvrditi da li se efikasno primenjuju ove mere i da li se ovim merama mogu oduzeti prihodi koji su stečeni prodajom droge. Deo rada biće posvećen razlozima koji govore u prilog i protiv oporezivanja nezakonito stečenih prihoda. U razmatranju ovog problema autor će se osloniti na iskustva SAD koje oporezuju nezakonito stečene prihode.