Legitimate Expectation and Tax Law

Abstract

In this study, we analyse the concept, the fundamentals, the elements (the reliable source, the legitimate expectation and the abuse of power), the method of application and the consequences of the legitimate expectation. This aiming to examine, in a second moment, its application in Tax Law, particularly concerning an unlimited term and/or unconditional tax benefit, unconstitutional and/or illegal tax benefit, and the tax ruling and the third party. Therefore, it is intended to demonstrate the exceptionality of the protection of the legitimate expectation in the conflict between, on the one hand, the predictability and the stability, and, on the other hand, the mutability and the flexibility.