| Abstract [eng] |
In this master’s thesis, using the criminal justice doctrine, provisions of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as the generally consistent case law of the Lithuanian courts, the concept of tax evasion as a criminal offence, as well as its constituent elements are described and presented. The work also examines the problem of legislative vagueness regarding the determining of the necessary criteria of a subject’s solvency for the application of criminal liability under the Article 219 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania. The master’s thesis, using the interpretive notes on the intent of the legislator, systematically analyses and compares the development of Article 219 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania in the light of the significant amendments to the article, which entered into force on 1 June 2023. In order to assess the application of criminal liability for tax evasion in practice, statistical data on the occurrence and prevalence of the criminal offence is presented and analysed together with an assessment of the most common punishments applicable to persons for the committing of this criminal offence. In this work, using the logical and literal interpretation of the law methods, the distinction between the criminal offences contained in Articles 219 and 220 – 221 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania are analysed in accordance with Lithuanian case law. The essential criteria are presented for distinguishing the criminal offence of tax evasion from the administrative offences provided for in Articles 120 and 1871 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Lithuania. Lastly, the thesis presents individual comparisons with the criminal justice regulation of 5 foreign countries with due regard to tax evasion in order to identify and assess the advantages of the different regulation, as well as the choice of the legislators of various analysed countries to either impose or not to impose criminal liability for such actions. |
