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ChapterI.Introduction
theuletter”ofthelawanditsuspirit”.Teriskisevenmoresignificant
inthecaseoftaxlawprovisions–whichcreatetheso-calleduthetical”
legalrelationships(i.e.nothavingtheirequivalentsinthepre-existing
socialrelationshipsbutcreatedbythetaxlawitself8)andwhich,when
constructingthehypothesisofalegalnorm(itsprotasis,operative
part,determiningtheconditionsofitsapplication),employprivatelaw
institutions,yetinordertograspeconomicphenomena–andthesame
economiceventcanbediverselyfashionedwithintheprivatelaw,with
diferentensuingtaximplications.Tewell-knownflawsoflegisla-
tivedrafinginthesubstantivetaxlaw–thedeficitsofprecisionand
technicalaccuracy,overcomplication,legallacunae,gapsandloop-
holesinadvertentlylefbythelawmaker,etc.–additionallyexasperate
theriskoftaxavoidance.
Taxavoidanceisalsoaproblemoftaxlawinterpretation.Itexploits
theincongruencebetweenthewordingoflawanditssense,immanent
logic,purposesensulargo(notnecessarilycomingdowntotheintent
ofanyempiricallawmaker).Tisincongruence–theextentofit–is
corollarytotheparadigmofinterpretationprevalentinthegivenlegal
culture.Whichofthetaxpayers’actionsfalloutsidetheuboundaries
ofthepossiblemeaningofthewords”usedinthelegaltextdepends
onthisparadigm.9Intheformalisticlegalculturetheboundariesare
narrowlysetandtaxavoidanceisparticularlydifculttoaddress.
Teparadigmofinterpretationdictatesalsowhatboththefactual
conditionsandjustificatoryreasonstogobeyondtheseboundaries
areinordertotaxtheactionsofataxpayerwhichareconsideredabu-
sive.Tedemarcationlinebetweenutheletter”anduthespirit”ofthe
taxlaw,or–moreimportantly–betweenthelaw(thescopeofactions
andeventstriggeringtaxobligation)andwhatliesoutsideitssphere
(itsbalanceorulogicalcomplement”:actionsandeventsnotsub-
jecttoregulation,howeversimilaroreconomicallyequivalentthey
aretothosetaxed)isculture-dependent,anditischaracterisedby
8See,e.g.R.Mastalski,[in:]R.Mastalski,E.Fojcik-Mastalska,Prawofnansowe,
WoltersKluwer,Warsaw2013,p.34.
9T.Spyra,Granicewykładniprawa.Znaczeniejęzykowetekstuprawnegojakogranica
wykładni,Zakamycze,Kraków2006.
