"Vad fan får jag för pengarna?" – En granskning av bestämmelserna om rättelse på eget initiativ

Sammanfattning: A correction on ones own initiative, so called ”own-initiative corrections” means that an individual submit changes to previously submitted information to the Swedish Tax Agency. These corrections mean that the individual will avoid both tax penalties and being charged of taxation fraud. Through “own-initiative corrections” the Tax Agency receives information from tax payers that they otherwise were unlikely to gain. In recent years international tax leaks have disclosed how private individuals and companies worldwide have hidden money to avoid taxes. Many Swedes escaped criminal charges by correcting their declarations after the leaks. In August 2018, a new regulation took effect resulting in a more restrictive interpretation for when a correction is considered to be an ”own-initiative correction”. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and critically examine whether the new legal rules meet the requirements for rule of law and efficiency, and whether they are expedient. The thesis is written with legal judicial method. The requirements are analysed on one hand by the fiscal interest of the state and on the other hand the individual interest. It is impossible to predict the financial consequences of the regulations in advance, which makes it difficult to determine how well the requirements are met. One potential consequence is that the corrections come in at a higher speed. However, the consequence of the new deadline could also be that fewer self-corrections come in. From a legal certainty perspective, it would have been desirable to have clearer definitions for the requisites in the legal rules and guidelines for how the Tax Agency should announce the information. Overall, my view is that efficiency, and thus the fiscal purpose, will likely benefit from the regulations. Hopefully, future court rulings will provide us with some clarifications and allow for more evidence based conclusion.