The right to corporate tax planning

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze corporate tax planning as a subjective right of taxpayers, based on the right to free private economic initiative and the principle of autonomy of will. In the Portuguese legal system there is a real freedom of business management, rooted in the freedom to opt for more favorable legal transactions from a tax point of view. Freedom of business management manifests itself as a subjective right of taxpayers through the exercise of the right to free private economic initiative. With the interventionist state, huge commitments and responsibilities in social matters have emerged, a factor that has triggered the phenomenon of the privatization of tax collection, where the company now plays a crucial role as a tax operator at the servisse of the state, becoming responsible for launching, settling and collecting taxes, in terms of CIT, personal income tax (IRS) and VAT. The privatization of taxes not only implies greater social responsibility for the company, but also limits it´s freedom of business management.