In her most recent opinion article, Catarina Gomes Correia, Senior Associate at MFA Legal & Tech, reflects on the recent legislative proposals within the scope of the administrative and tax justice reform and issues a crucial warning: we risk repeating the mistake of "piecemeal reform" on a system that demands an integrated approach.
While acknowledging positive developments, such as: end of case concentration at the Tribunal Central Administrativo Sul; administrative procedures for State liability to claim damages going beyond indemnity interest; and simplified proceedings for low-value claims in administrative litigation, the specialist emphasises that tax justice continues to fall behind (with a tax litigation reform still pending).
The speed and effectiveness of tax justice, in particular, will require questioning the system's underlying architecture:
- Redesigning and simplifying procedural path options;
- Introducing mediation mechanisms to narrow down disputed facts and avoid years of litigation;
- Implementing a genuinely integrated reform, rather than an overlap of surgical measures.
As the author notes: "The opportunity lies less in tinkering with the system once again than in rethinking it entirely."
Full article link below.
