Axel Hilling

Tax Planning in Partner-owned Close Corporations

Over thepast years, the scholarly discussionon tax lawhas focused largely on aggressive tax planning (Dourado 2015; Panayi 2015). “Aggressive tax planning” is not a legal term; it refers primarily to transactions whereby companies take advantage of discrepancies—arbitrage—between tax laws of different countries, thereby achieving a more favorable taxation than the comparable taxpayers who have no access to such tax-planning opportunities. Aggressive tax planning, then, is not a matter of evading the law, but of exploiting, for purposes of personal gain, the limitations and shortcomings of the lawwith regard to certain transactions. Or, asMurphy (2005) defines it: “Aggressive taxplanning by its very nature involves findingways to accomplish compliance with the letter of the law while totally undermining the policy intent or spirit behind the legislation” (p. 563). Tax planning, whereby tax arbitrages are exploited for personal gain, is not merely an issue within international taxation, however, it can also occur in domestic transactions. Differences in tax rates for different types of income

Book Reviews 2015

Abstract This section contains three book reviews. First the book Swedish Taxation, Development since 1862 is reviewed. This volume comprises six studies that examine the development of Swedish taxation from 1862 to 2013, and will likely be of great value in future Nordic tax research because of its comprehensiveness. The second review is about a book written in Swedish:Momsfri sjukvård (The VAT exemption for health care). This volume discusses a topical issue and presents convincing recommendations for changes in the Swedish VAT legislation. Finally, the Danish book International Skatteret, i et dansk perspektiv (International Tax Law, in a Danish perspective) is presented as highly recommended literature for students and practitioners in the field of international tax law. This volume discusses and illustrates general matters in international tax law, as well as specific matters relevant for Danish international tax law.