Korkeimman hallinto-oikeuden vero-oikeudellisten valituslupapäätösten tilastoanalyysi
Avainsanat:
oikeustilasto, empiirinen oikeustiede, vero-oikeus, valituslupa, muutoksenhakuAbstrakti
A statistical analysis of leave to appeal decisions in tax cases at the Supreme Administrative Court
This study examines the tax-related leave to appeal applications of the Supreme Administrative Court using quantitative methods. The material consists of leave to appeal applications collected over approximately 4.5 years and decisions concerning them. Tax-related appeals and leaves to appeal have sparked a lot of practical discussion, and there has been informal speculation that, for example, the role of the counsel may affect the obtaining of leave to appeal. Therefore, the research falls within the field of empirical legal research, and its knowledge interest is focused, beyond the wording of legislation and case law, on whether it can be statistically demonstrated that factors other than normative factors also affect the granting of leaves to appeal. The article challenges traditional judicial system thinking by examining the role of external factors, such as counsels and referendaries, in the process.
The findings suggest that the Supreme Administrative Court grants leave to appeal primarily on the basis of a precedent case. As the decisions are not justified in detail, this observation cannot be confirmed with certainty. However, the data reveals that the Tax Recipients’ Legal Services Unit (VOVA) is granted leave to appeal relatively more often than taxpayers. VOVA is also granted leave to appeal threshold more easily in situations where the Supreme Administrative Court does not ultimately alter the outcome of the lower court’s decision. This raises significant questions regarding the procedural equality of parties to the tax process. It is not possible to draw far-reaching conclusions regarding the influence of the counsel, but it is clear that a taxpayer’s application for leave to appeal will be much more successful if the taxpayer uses a counsel. The success of leaves to appeal is clearly personalised to a small and experienced group of counsels. Academic merits in tax law do not statistically guarantee better success in the leave to appeal process.
According to the statistics, the counsel’s experience seems to be a significant factor in the success of the application. In addition, the research shows significant differences between referendaries in the granting rates of leave to appeal, which suggests that a referendary’s personal contribution and preparation of the matter have a de facto impact on exceeding the threshold for leave to appeal.
The leave to appeal is most frequently granted in situations where the Supreme Administrative Court changes the outcome of the previous decision. The research data undermines the view that leave to appeal would consistently be granted when the normative criteria are met, and shows that the discretion is broad and partially non-transparent. More detailed justification of the Supreme Administrative Court’s decisions on the leaves to appeal would increase the legitimacy of the judicial system and help counsels to better assess the chances of successful applications.
