Tax uncertainty

Abstract

Lawyers are taught to appreciate the value of certainty in the law. In the field of taxation, however, the law is often far from certain. This article examines some of the causes of uncertainty within tax law, including the inherent uncertainty of language, the mismatch between the lawyer's tools of statutory interpretation and a tax statute drafted using an economic or accounting understanding of tax concepts, differing judicial constructions of tax statutes, and the intentional uncertainty in the drafting of tax statutes to allow for discretion or to prevent tax avoidance. It is argued that community consultation and bodies such as a specialist tax tribunal may reduce uncertainty and allow..