Fiscaal overgangsbeleid : een raamwerk voor het vormgeven en beoordelen van het overgangsbeleid van de fiscale wetgever

Abstract

In the Netherlands amendments to fiscal legislation are almost a daily routine. Exemptions or deductible items applicable today might be abolished next year. The legislator faces two questions with each legislative amendment: when to enact new rules, and whether they should apply to everybody or whether exceptions should apply in certain cases. Miscellaneous factors affect the solution to these questions. A major factor is the trust that civilians may have as regards the continuance of the former rule. Another regards the taxpayers’ reaction to the announcement of a legislative amendment. To date, the factors affecting aforementioned decisions have not yet been systematically listed. The goal of this research is to develop a framework for fiscal transition policy. Firstly, the framework comprises an assessment framework for fiscal transitional law. The assessment framework provides concrete guidelines for both drafting transitional law and assessing existing transitional regimes. It is a product of the framework for fiscal transition policy, as it incorporates both the policy-related actions of the legislator and taxpayers’ behaviour. Secondly, the framework contains rules of thumb for the legislator for pursuing a fiscal transition policy.