Countries Apply Doctrines to Counter Tax Avoidance: Abuse of Right, Abuse of Law, and Doctrine of Simulation
Courts in various countries utilize civil law doctrines to address tax avoidance. The doctrine of Abuse of Right, applied in jurisdictions like Austria and France, targets transactions that manipulate the law's intent to evade taxes. The Abuse of Law doctrine, used in countries such as The Netherlands, allows courts to replace tax-motivated transactions with standard ones. The Doctrine of Simulation, applied in Belgium, focuses on the substance over form, allowing tax authorities to disregard simulated transactions and recognize the actual ones, such as in sale and leaseback arrangements where true rights and obligations are not transferred.