Practice question · Multiple choice
A new tax law is published in January, takes effect in April, and is applied to income earned the previous year. Why is that controversial?
Hints
- Ask whether the taxpayer could have behaved differently at the time the income was earned.
- What is the point of publishing a law before it applies?
Show the answer
C. It is retroactive, attaching consequences to completed acts
Why
Publication and vacatio legis exist so people can know the rule before acting on it, and retroactivity destroys exactly that. Spanish law bans it outright for sanctions and restrictions of rights, treating milder tax retroactivity case by case.
Practise Sources of Law and Temporal Validity
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More questions on Sources of Law and Temporal Validity
- Order the life cycle of a statute.
- Match each term to its definition.
- Which statements about retroactivity are correct?
- A law that has not been published in the Official Gazette does not bind citizens, however widely it is known.
- Complete the default rule of temporal validity.
- A company plans around a legal reform. Order its correct reasoning.