Neteisėtumo kriterijaus reikšmė pajamų apmokestinime. II dalis

LTStraipsnyje analizuojamas klausimas – ar pajamos iš neteisėtos veiklos turėtų būti apmokestinamos ir jei taip, tai kokiu būdu? Nelegalių pajamų apmokestinimo klausimai nagrinėjami seniai. Remiantis užsienio šalių praktika, būtina suformuluoti ir atskirti neteisėtos ir nelegalios veiklos bei pajamų sąvokas, nustatyti tokio apmokestinimo teisėtumo sąlygas. Straipsnio pirma dalis yra orientuota į neteisėtos veiklos vertinimą mokestinėje ir baudžiamojoje teisėje, siekiama išanalizuoti pačios komercinės veiklos neįsteigus juridinio asmens teisėtumo klausimą ir jos apibrėžties kriterijus, o šioje antrojoje dalyje svarstomi neteisėtų pajamų apmokestinimo pagrįstumo ir teisėtumo klausimai. Taip pat yra apžvelgiama vakarų teisės valstybių susiformavusi praktika nagrinėjamu klausimu.

ENTaxation of illegal income is quite common in many foreign countries, but this practice is not yet applicable in Lithuania, though the recent movements of Lithuania’s Finance Minister, when she admitted that all income should be taxed despite it’s source show her positive attitude towards the taxation of illegal income. The article promotes the idea that all personal income, despite its source, should be taxed. The article is divided into two parts: the first one, which is not published here, deals with the problem of defining personal commercial activity itself and the legality of it and the second one examines the problem of the taxation of illegal gains, including the rules of deduction and declaration. The analysis is based on the general terms and definitions of income of Lithuanian law, which defines income quite generally – as all the benefits, received by a person in monetary or other forms. Lithuanian law does not state clearly that, in order to be taxed, personal income has to be only from legal sources. So, in this case, we can say that there is no formal interference in the taxation of illegal income. The main focus is on the one of the oldest countries which has the longest practice in taxing illegal income- the US where in year 1916 the Congress changed the Internal Revenue Code which stated that "gross income means all income from whatever source derived". From that day, the US courts have gone a long way describing what earnings from illegal sources have to be classified as taxable income.It is interesting that some countries which tax illegal income, like Canada or Australia, describe income generally in their local income statutes, like the law of the Lithuanian Personal Income Tax, but the practice of the courts in these countries has come to decisions that, despite the illegality of income, illegal income also falls under the general description of income and should be taxed like legal one. It is also important to note that one of the main taxation system principles is justice. This principle is also established in the main Lithuanian statute – the Constitution. The principle of justice in the taxation system states that everyone should pay taxes according to his/her economical situation. In this case, if a person is getting illegal income and the government does not collect taxes from this income, the principle of justice is broken, as taxes are the main source for government to finance its different everyday life social services – like medical care, public security, education, etc. And it does not matter if a person gets legal or illegal income – if he is living in the state, he is using government’s services, and so it would be unjust to tax only residents with legal income. To summarize, it can be stated that all income, despite its source, should be taxed. First of all, the Lithuanian Constitution imposes the obligation to pay taxes on all the Lithuanian residents, the principle of Justice applied in tax law also requires everyone to pay taxes according to his or her economical situation, and finally – Lithuanian law describes income quite generally, and this description does not conflict with the taxation of illegal income. So far Lithuania has not applied the taxation of illegal income in practice.