Résumé (EN)

Joint liability is a recurrent feature of tax law. It is essentially a civil law mechanism which is closely bound to the means of recovery available to the revenue authorities. With respect to the company director, his “financial liability” or “joint pecuniary liability” currently depends on a court ruling. Two items of legislation provide for the director’s liability according to whether the matter is being heard before the civil courts (Article L. 267 of the LPF tax code) or the criminal courts (Article 1745 of the CGI tax code).Although those two provisions are independent from one another since they have neither the same legal basis, nor the same purpose and the person bringing the action is different, it is appropriate to question their respective scope, underline their pitfalls and present avenues for reform of the corporate manager’s joint liability for tax liabilities.The aim is both to make the revenue authority’s action for recovery more effective and to secure the corporate manager’s rights. The current situation requires pragmatism, for recovering tax liabilities resulting primarily from VAT and for suspending joint liability for intentionally causing tax liabilities from the time of the procedure of the determination of the tax base.