LUPPI PHILIPPE

The article focuses on the role and place of a taxation judge in the French legal system. The author notes that the activity of a judge in tax disputes is not regulated by any special act; it is self-independent and, at the same time, ensures compliance with the general principles of private or public law. The taxation judge seeks a balance in the delicate relationship between the tax administration and the taxpayer, where the latter perceives the tax as a burden rather than civic duty, and sometimes tries to violate the rules and the law, forgetting that, as Oliver Holmes said, “Taxes are the price we pay for the opportunity to live in a civilized society”. Many taxation mechanisms are balancing on the verge of legality and get out of the control of a judge who does not always have sufficient information and resources. Despite the progress made in this area, taxation judges have not been able to determine the intangible boundary between taxation engineering (legal taxation optimization opportunities) and tax planning (morally reprehensible tax evasion). Through case law, the taxation judge takes part in restoring tax justice, the confidence in the tax administration, the preservation of rights and guarantees for the taxpayer, and the desire to promote and encourage tax residency as the basis of a social contract.