What, broadly speaking, are the contributions of the law of 23 October 2018 on the fight against tax fraud?

The main merit of the Act of 23 October 2018 on combating tax fraud is that it attempts to objectify the conditions for penalising tax adjustments in the event of a tax audit. For a long time, taxpayers suffered from a lack of visibility regarding the criminal outcome of the tax audit procedure. The possibility of criminal proceedings was left solely to the discretion of the tax authorities.

The role of the ‘Bercy lock’ exacerbated this uncertainty. With this reform, however, the tax authorities are obliged to automatically forward to the public prosecutor all tax reassessments where it is established that the amount of duty evaded amounts to €100,000, together with at least a 40%, 80% or 100% surcharge. Where the taxpayer is required to make a declaration to the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP), this amount is reduced to €50,000.

To read the rest of the article on the Observatoire de la Justice Pénale website, click here : Lutte contre la fraude fiscale : étude des apports de la loi du 23 octobre 2018