On tax law and private law relations

The subject of this article is the legal relationship between fiscal law and private law in Denmark. The relationship between tax law and private law has not been given attention corresponding to the practical and theoretical importance of the topic. The theoretical and practical clarification of tax law and private law relations presently finds itself in an embryonic stage. The traditional focus has been placed on the use of private law terms in tax law legislation and on the discussion on form and substance, tax avoidance and evasion. In contradiction to the situation in several other countries the subject has not been profoundly analysed in Danish legal science. The reasons for this may be many, but one obvious reason may be the historical lack of academical interest in tax law as such. The historical interest in countries such as Germany, Switzerland and Austria can be seen as an expression of recognition of the practical overlap between the disciplines. Such recognition is important due to the fact that modern business imply multidisciplinary business advising by the solution of practical problems. Beginning by the last third of the 20, Century, Post-industrial service rendering business in Europe and North America has been characterized by a high and until then unseen degree of complexity. Hereby certain demands for interdisciplinary research arise. In the field of business advising, lack of knowledge across legal disciplines may lead to insufficient advice. The importance of the subject is beyond doubt. Basically, all fact finding in tax law is based on private law. Taxation of business activities is thus based on the private law qualification and use of private law terms. From a theoretical