GYLA will appeal to the Constitutional Coart regarding the “Law on Financial Amnesty”
A Law on tax and financial amnesty will be in force starting from January 25. The law, which was approved by the Georgian Parliament on December 24, 2004, envisages amnesty for those persons who evaded paying taxes before January 1, 2004, as well as legalization of undeclared property and finances.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association considers this law to be unfair and anti-constitutional.
As a result of enforcement of this law, around 250 criminal cases brought against those persons who were accused of evading taxes committed before January 1, 2004 will be terminated, according to the General Prosecutor’s Office.
The law does not free from liabilities those taxpayers, who have declared, accrued and accounted, though unpaid, tax or customs obligations at the relevant state agencies. The law envisages amnesty only for those persons who evaded paying of taxes before January 1, 2004. As a result, the new law puts taxpayers in unequal positions and violates the provisitons of 14, 21, 30 and 38 articles of Georgian Constitution.
The only way to protest this mechanism is to appeal to the Constitutional Court. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association is going to bring an action to the Constitutional Court demanding the
abolishment of the law’s provisions.
