Right of recourse between individuals due to representative liability under tax law

Representative liability under tax law means that representatives of a limited company, for example, can be ordered to pay the company's tax debts. This makes representative liability an important tool for, among other things, collecting unpaid taxes from bankrupt companies. For a representative to be subject to such liability, he or she must have contributed to the non-payment of taxes through intent or gross negligence. In addition, a decision on representative liability must be taken by an administrative court following a specific application by the tax authority. Consequently, the procedure gives the Swedish Tax Agency certain powers to influence who is subject to tax representative liability, for example by taking into account the state of evidence or the ability of individuals to pay. Thus, some candidates may also be overlooked, which then raises the question of whether those who have been imposed tax representative liability can in turn demand payment from other individuals (right of recourse). Such a right exists between the representative and the company, but otherwise there is considerable uncertainty about what applies. Because of this, the purpose of the research project is to analyze the legal conditions for recourse between individuals due to tax law representative liability. This includes in particular examining how such possibilities for recourse relate to the requirements imposed by the tax law principle of legality, which aims to maintain legal certainty in the collection of tax.