| Abstract | Porezi su jedan od prihoda države i u čitavom poreznom sustavu su najvažniji i najizdašniji javni prihod. Porezi su zapravo jedan oblik prisilnog davanja koji nameće država, koji nije namjenski usmjeren i koji nema izravnu protučinidbu. Poreze karakterizira derivativnost, prisilnost, nepovratnost i odsutnost neposredne protunaknade, što nužno ima za posljedicu negativan odnos poreznih obveznika prema ispunjavanju njihove obveze plaćanja poreza. Taj otpor je veći što je porezni teret teži, što je veće zadiranje države u privatnost poreznog obveznika, što je veće zahvaćenje njegovog dohotka i imovine. Na međunarodnoj razini obveznici imaju mogućnost izbjegavati plaćanje poreza tako što će iskoristiti različitost poreznih sustava drugih zemalja. Stoga mnoge zemlje primjenjuju porezne mehanizme kako bi ostvarile konkurentne prednosti i privukle poslovne subjekte. Tako su nastale i porezne oaze u kojima se plaća vrlo malo poreza ili se ne plaća uopće. Porezna oaza je bilo koja zemlja čiji zakoni i regulative omogućavaju stranim investitorima (fizičkim i pravnim osobama) da smanje svoja porezna davanja kroz upotrebu offshore tvrtki, bankovnih računa i kreditnih kartica. Najbolje ih karakterizira odsutnost transparentnosti, tajnost bankovnih podataka i odbijanje da se ti podaci podijele s vlastima drugih država te osiguravanje legalnog statusa i virtualnim poduzećima (poduzeća u obliku poštanskog sandučića). Najpopularnije porezne oaze su mnogobrojni izoliranih otoci i manje države koje su više ili manje samostalne u organizaciji svojih malih ekonomskih sustava kao što su Andora, Bahami, Belize, Bermudski otoci, Britanski Djevičanski otoci, Kajmanski otoci, Kanalski otoci, otoci Cook, Hong Kong, The Isle of Man, Mauricius, St. Kitts & Nevis itd., od europskih zemalja Švicarska, Monako, Luksemburg, a u novije vrijeme Irska i Nizozemska te Delaware i Wyoming u SAD-u. Offshore računi i tvrtke nisu ilegalni, poslovni subjekti mogu svoje poslovanje potpuno legitimno voditi putem offshore računa ili drugih tvrtki, a to uključuje poslovne financije, spajanja i akvizicije te nekretnine i planiranje poreza, u skladu s odredbama globalne organizacije za sprječavanje pranja novca. No, problem je što se ti računi nerijetko koriste i za izbjegavanje plaćanja poreza, a tajnost koju pružaju čini ih privlačnima za mnoge kriminalne organizacije, kao i za terorističke skupine koje žele prikriti izvore svojih sredstava. |
| Abstract (english) | Taxes are one of the state revenues and in whole tax system they are most important and most prominent public income. Taxes are actually a form of forced giving imposed by state, which doesn't have direct purpose and direct counteraction. Taxes, among other things are derivative, enforced, irreversible and without immediate compensation which leads to negative behaviour of taxpayers in fulfilling their obligation to pay them. This is more pronounced if tax burden is higher, if state has larger influence on privacy of taxpayer and if it has higher capture of his income and assets. At international level, taxpayers have the ability to avoid paying taxes by using diversity of tax systems in other countries. Therefore, many countries apply tax mechanisms to achieve competitive advantages and attract business entities. That's how tax havens were created, where tax is paid in small amount or it is not paid at all. Tax haven is any country whose laws and regulations allow foreign investors (individuals and legal entities) to reduce their tax givings through the use of offshore companies, bank accounts and credit cards. Their main characteristics are lack of transparency, confidentiality of bank data and refusal to share this information with authorities of other states and ensuring legitimate status to virtual business entities (companies in the form of a mailbox). Most tax havens are isolated islands and smaller countries that are more or less independent in organizing their small economic systems such as Andorra, the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, the islands of Cook, Hong Kong, The Isle of Man, Mauritius, St. Kitts & Nevis etc., from European countries that are Switzerland, Monaco, Luxembourg, recently Ireland and the Netherlands, also Delaware and Wyoming from the USA. Offshore accounts and companies are not illegal, business entities can legitimately conduct their business through offshore accounts or other companies, and that includes business finances, mergers and acquisitions, real estates and tax planning, in accordance with the rules of global anti-money laundering organization. But the problem is that these accounts are often used to avoid paying taxes, and the secrecy they provide makes them appealing to many criminal organizations, as well to the terrorist groups who want to conceal resources of their funds. |
