Timothy Lyons KC
Year of call: 1980
Silk: 2003
News
Berlioz: challenges to information orders – fair or fantastic? - Timothy Lyons QC (Tax Journal)
Timothy Lyons QC examines a case on exchange of information which deals with issues fundamental to administration of justice. Tax law is increasingly understood as part of public law which strikes a balance between the state and the citizen.
Sometimes the technicalities of tax legislation obscure the court's balancing act. In other cases, like Berlioz Investment Fund SA (Case C-682/15), it is as plain as can be. As the advocate general said: 'The legal instruments that improve the means of combating tax evasion … are increasingly used by member states. Inevitably, the increasing use of those means raises the question of the balance between, on the one hand, administrative efficiency and, on the other, respect for citizens' rights, including the right to an effective remedy' (para 3).
Wathelet AG acknowledged that a 'delicate equation' was at the heart of the questions asked by the court.
