On 12 and 13 May 2025, the Professorship for Economic Criminal Law, Compliance and Digitalisation conducted the intensive course “Tax Criminal Law”.

The sheer scale of tax-related crime illustrates the topicality and practical relevance of this field: The so-called tax gap refers to the difference between the taxes that should be collected under the law and those that are actually paid. It also includes losses resulting from criminal conduct. Studies for Austria, for instance, suggest a tax gap of up to CHF 15 billion in 2021—around 8% of total expected revenue. The European Union’s VAT gap for 2020 was estimated at around CHF 90 billion—roughly 9% of total expected VAT revenue. Approximately one-quarter of this shortfall is said to be directly attributable to VAT fraud.

Tax criminal law is a classic cross-disciplinary field: the two demanding legal domains of tax law and criminal law go hand in hand, yet differ significantly in character. Practical work in tax criminal law therefore requires a solid foundation in both. Procedural issues can be particularly complex, as there is no unified code of procedure comparable to the Liechtenstein Code of Criminal Procedure. This presents challenges, particularly from the perspective of the fundamental rights of the accused.

The course focused on teaching the fundamentals of tax criminal law within the broader regulatory framework. Solving legal problems in practice requires a “toolbox.” The most important tools include basic skills in legal methodology, awareness of legal issues, and systematic understanding. Dr. Günther Schaunig, postdoctoral assistant at the Professorship for Economic Criminal Law, Compliance and Digitalisation, provided these foundations and structured insights to help participants make sense of the fragmented legal framework. The course then delved into key topics such as VAT-related offences and procedural law, which is especially relevant in legal defence practice. Prof. Dr. Konstantina Papathanasiou, LL.M., concluded the course with a session on corporate criminal liability.