COMBATING TAX AVOIDANCE: EU AND GREEK MEASURES FOR FAIR CORPORATE TAXATION

Tax avoidance refers to the practice of aggressive tax planning aimed at artificially reducing tax liabilities by exploiting weaknesses in national and international tax systems. Unlike tax evasion, which is a direct violation of tax laws, tax avoidance involves the strategic use of legal loopholes to minimize tax burdens, ultimately depriving the state of resources and benefiting the taxpayer. While the European Union allows tax competition among its member states, recent initiatives have been introduced to combat the negative social impacts of tax avoidance. These include measures for information exchange among EU countries and rapid responses to VAT fraud, as well as the adoption of a code of conduct to promote fair corporate taxation. In Greece, a general anti-avoidance rule has been introduced through Article 38 of the Tax Procedure Code, targeting artificial arrangements that undermine domestic tax law. The regulation defines criteria for identifying tax avoidance and outlines the consequences of such practices, including the reassessment of taxes owed. The Greek legal framework and EU law address the issue of tax avoidance, balancing the protection of fundamental economic freedoms with the need to ensure fair taxation and prevent the erosion of tax bases across member states.