La necesidad de determinar el adeudo tributario como condición para el proceso penal en la defensa tributaria

In recent years the Tax Administration in Guatemala has used criminal prosecution as a tool to increase tax collection. However, for criminal procedures involving the crime of tax fraud the Tax Administration is required to determine the tax liability, also called tax obligation, in a previous administrative procedure. According to the Guatemalan Tax Code, the Tax Administration is the only competent body to determine the tax liability. If it fails to do so, the criminal judge should have an obstacle in the development of the criminal procedure, since in order to convict someone for the crime of tax fraud it is necessary that there is an undermining in the tax collection. In the absence of such undermining, the elements for convicting someone for such a crime are not present. The undermining cannot be determined by the criminal judge, so the determination made by the Tax Administration is necessary. Currently, the Tax Administration files criminal complaints without having determined the tax liability, based on articles 70 and 90 of the Tax Code. These provisions do not exempt the Tax Administration from determining the tax debt, they simply establish that, if there are signs that a crime has been committed, the Tax Administration will refrain from applying any penalty Once the complaint is filed, the Tax Administration submits an audit report to the Attorney General’s Office with the alleged determination of the tax liability. The foregoing represents a violation of the constitutional rights of the taxpayer and of the principles of public power. An audit report does not replace the appropriate proceeding to determine the tax liability, thus disregarding the due process and the taxpayer's right to a defense. Since the law establishes a way to determine the tax liability, ignoring such procedure implies a violation of the principle of subjection to the law of public officials, given that they can only do what the law entitles them to do En los últimos años la Administración Tributaria en Guatemala ha utilizado el proceso penal como un medio para aumentar la recaudación fiscal. Sin embargo, para que en los procesos penales se discuta la comisión del delito de defraudación tributaria, se requiere que la Administración Tributaria determine el adeudo tributario, también llamado obligación tributaria, en un procedimiento administrativo previo. Conforme el Código Tributario de Guatemala, la Administración Tributaria es el único órgano competente para determinar l