How legal scholars facilitate tax avoidance: Case study on the power of tax consultancy firms

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Raitasuo, Santtu; Ylonen, Matti
• 署名单位: University of Helsinki; University of Helsinki; Tallinn University of Technology
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3298
• DOI: 10.1111/padm.12796
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 507-521
• 关键词: policy; lawyers; advice; FORCE; LAW

摘要

Social scientists have neglected the ways in which the consultancy assignments of legal scholars mediate private interests, even though their opinions provide important guidance in legal proceedings. Through a case study from Finland, we document a process where private tax advisory firms utilize their access to academic forums to defend their clients' interests. With further evidence on related dependencies, we trace a twofold process that amplifies the voice of tax advisors and suppresses public interest-related concerns. By achieving positions of trust in the academia, tax consultancy firms gain important gatekeeper roles that facilitate corporate-friendly research and subdue critical arguments. The findings challenge the conventional understanding of the dynamics of knowledge production and call for a greater attention to the pitfalls of the marketization of academic legal advice and scholarship. The national-level interpretative power of major tax advisory companies is also an important building block for international network power.