Tax avoidance and anti-avoidance: Legislation and judicial practice in New Zealand and its implications

Abstract

This article discusses the nature of tax avoidance and the most important concepts connected to tax avoidance, before going into detailed discussions on the legislation and cases, and their underlying principles, relevant to anti-tax-avoidance, mainly in New Zealand, but also other jurisdictions. The focuses are on how the courts developed rules and interpreted the statutory provisions regarding anti-avoidance, and the implications. Proposals are made for the improvements of anti-tax-avoidance in China, based on the above analyses and the discussions on the status quo of legislation and practice on tax-avoidance and anti-avoidance in China.

本文将首先讨论问题的性质以及可能涉及到的重要概念。然后，将较为系统地述评新西兰反避税立法的历史沿革和发展过程，包括反避税特别规则与反避税一般规则的立法等。接着，笔者将在重点分析几个典型案例的基础上，探讨司法机关如何在反避税案件的审判实践中不断发展完善一般反避税规则的解释和运用标准。最后，笔者将在给出本文结论的同时，结合我国的实际，就如何借鉴新西兰以及其他国家（地区）的经验，提出完善我国反避税立法的建议。因为论述的需要，其他国家或地区（包括一些大陆法系国家）的反避税立法（或案件）也有可能简单论及。