RESEARCH SEMINAR DISCUSSING TAX PROFESSIONALS AT THE CROSSROADS OF COMPLIANCE AND CRIME

We are delighted to share that an engaging research seminar took place on 27 March 2025 at the University of Exeter, focusing on the critical role professionals play in the context of tax crime. The seminar featured Professor Diane Ring, a valued member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Corporate Crime Observatory, together with Dr. Costantino Grasso and Dr. Donato Vozza, Co-founders of our platform.

Entitled “Compliance, Avoidance, and Evasion in Taxation: The Role of Professionals,” the seminar investigated the complex and often blurred boundaries between tax compliance, avoidance, and evasion, presenting them as a continuum rather than as distinct categories. It examined how legal frameworks define these practices while emphasizing the ethical grey zones in which professionals frequently operate.

The presentations focused on the pivotal role tax professionals—such as lawyers, accountants, and advisors—may play as gatekeepers of the tax system, facilitators of tax abuses, or accomplices of tax crime. The seminar shed light on the regulatory challenges in addressing sophisticated avoidance schemes, especially in a globalized context marked by regulatory arbitrage, as well as the challenges in countering tax crimes.

Using comparative legal insights and case studies, the seminar illustrated the significant impact professional conduct can have on tax enforcement and public trust. It concluded with concrete policy recommendations, advocating for stronger oversight, clearer ethical guidance, and reforms to disincentivize complicity in abusive tax practices.

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