Anna Drywa

The terminology issue regarding the concept of “privacy” seems to be increasingly important in the context of the changing tax reality in which the emphasis is put even more strongly than before on the protection of fiscal interest, at the expense of limiting the sphere of taxpayers' privacy, in particular through the expansion of their surveillance on an unprecedented scale.

The OECD, in its notable achievements, treats the taxpayer's right to privacy very superficially. In one of the documents, which is a kind of report on the rights and obligations of taxpayers in force in individual countries, we can read that “All taxpayers have the right to expect that the tax authorities will not intrude unnecessarily upon their privacy”. I would argue that this statement is far not enough in the reality of current technological possibilities and realizes too narrow protection of taxpayer’s right. The issue of taxpayers’ right to privacy should be introduced to public and scientific awareness. But how should the term privacy itself be understood? The answer is not easy, one the term is not precise so understanding is difficult though the literature on this issue is very broad. Two it is rarely used on the ground of debate on taxation. The critical approach has led to a review of the immensely rich body of literature on the theory of privacy and the right to privacy, and an attempt to adopt an understanding of the term “privacy” that will also be useful in tax matters. There is the absence of a consensus on the adoption of a particular way of defining “privacy”. For that reason it has to be emphasized that there is no theoretical basis to conduct a discussion on this specific taxpayer right, which is right to privacy. This paper is an attempt to find such understanding of the term "privacy" that will be useful in tax context.

The considerations concern a problem that is rarely raised on the basis of tax issues, namely the taxpayer's right to privacy. They are carried out in the context of one of the legal regulations which has a significant impact on the development of the protection of the privacy of the taxpayer. It should be noted that the changes to tax rules introduced in the last decade clearly indicate that the tax legislator shifts the boundaries of the taxpayer's inviolable privacy sphere. In the first part, an theoretical understanding of the notion of taxpayer's privacy will be considered. The considerations will serve as a starting point for the second part of the discussion, which focuses on the taxpayer’s right to privacy by exploring normative basis for protection of taxpayer’s privacy. The following third part addresses how specific tax rules affect the development of the protected and inviolable sphere of the privacy of a taxpayer. The study carried out leads inter alia to conclusion that the current status of the taxpayer's right to privacy seems questionable and not spotted enough, as the legislator invasions the private sphere of taxpayers using a number of tools to this end. The author therefore argues that the strengthening and updating the taxpayer's right to privacy protection is necessary. 

One of the categories of public expenditure are, inter alia, funds intended to pay as compensation to taxpayers who have been harmed by the tax authorities as a result of issuing faulty tax decision. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the fact that these are expenses that can be avoided.

Liability is one of the foundations of a democratic state of law. It is not permitted to hand over taxpayer risk associated with the exercise of power. All damages caused to the taxpayer as a consequence of faulty tax decision should be compensated. Therefore, minimizing the amount of compensation should be done by preventing contempt of the law and improving the quality of tax legislation.

The aim of this article is to reflect upon the selected problems of the phenomenon of minimizing the tax burdens. It analyses the nature of the phenomenon, its causes and consequences.

Taxpayers increasingly more often undertake actions aimed at minimizing or even eliminating tax burdens. At the same time, it is expected that as a result of the dissemination of knowledge about the techniques of minimizing the tax burdens, the availability of professional advisory in this aspect, the phenomenon will become even more common than it is now. It bears serious consequences in the form of subsequent lowering of public income. It is therefore necessary to pay attention to this problem and to take thoughtful actions in order to limit this phenomenon.