eleonor kristoffersson / michael lang / pasquale pistone / josef … · 2014. 2. 23. · eleonor...

Eleonor Kristoffersson / Michael Lang / Pasquale Pistone / Josef Schlich / Claus Staringer / Alfred Storck (eds.)

Tax Secrecy and Tax Transparency

The Relevante of Confidentiality in Tax Law

Parti

PL ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Table of Contents

Foreword V General Report 1

Eleonor Kristoffersson and Pasquale Pistone 1 1. Policy issues, historical development, general legal framework 1 1.1. General issues 1 1.2. Confidentiality and secrecy in tax matters 3 2. Collection of data 6 2.1. Filing tax returns and supply of tax-relevant Information by the

taxpayer or third parties 6 2.2. Tax auditing 9 2.3. Breaches of tax confidentiality by civil servants 11 3. Specific relationships 12 3.1. Information supplied by banks and financial intermediaries 12 3.2. Attorneys' and tax advisors' privilege 14 3.3. Other non-disclosure Privileges 15 4. Sharing Information domestically 15 4.1. Sharing tax Information within national tax authorities 16 4.2. Sharing tax Information with other national authorities 17 5. Sharing Information internationally 18 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 24 6.1. Published decisions and other documents of the courts and the

tax authorities 24 6.2. List of taxpayers 27 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 29 8. Consequences of infringements 31 9. Final remarks 32

Argentina 35 Diego N. Fraga and Axel A. Verstraeten 35 1. Overview 35 1.1. Policy issues 35 1.2. Historical development 36 1.3. General Legal Framework 38 2. Collection of data 42 3. Specific relationships 46 3.1. Banks 46

Table of Contents

3.2. Lawyer/tax advisor 47 3.3. Other professional confidentialities 48 4. Sharing Information domestically 48 5. Sharing Information Internationally 49 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 58 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 59 8. Consequences of infringements 60

Australia ^3 Kathrin Bain 63 1. Overview 63 1.1. Policy Issues 63 1.2. Historical development 64 1.3. General legal framework 66 2. Collection of data 67 3. Specific relationships 71 3.1. Banks 71 3.2. Lawyers 73 4. Sharing Information domestically 77 4.1. Within the tax administration 77 4.2. With other authorities 78 5. Sharing information internationally 79 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 82 6.1. Published decisions and other documents of the courts and the

tax administration 82 6.2. List of taxpayers 83 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in tax administration and tax

courts 83 7. Access to taxpayer data by individuals 83 8. Consequences of infringements 85

Austria Marion Stiastny 95 1. Overview 95 1.1. Policy issues and importance of tax secrecy 95 1.2. Historical development 95 1.3. General Legal Framework 97 1.3.1. Constitutional law 97 1.3.2. Ordinary law JQQ 2. Collection of data JQJ

Table of Contents IX

2.1. How is data collected? 101 2.2. Penalties or other means of enforcement to achieve an efficient

collection of data 102 2.3. Relevant principles 102 3. Specific relationships 103 3.1. Specific relationships with Professionals and banks 103 3.1.1. Obligation to secrecy 104 3.1.2. Use of Information subject to tax secrecy by the tax

administration 106 4. Sharing Information Domestically < 111 4.1. Obligation to report 111 4.2. Mutual assistance 111 5. Sharing Information Intemationally 114 5.1. Article 26 OECD MC and TIEAs with regard to secrecy 114 5.2. Directive 2011/16/EU 122 5.3. Directive 2003/48/EC 123 5.4. Rubik Agreements 124 6. Access to Taxpayers' Data by the Public 125 6.1. Decision of the tax administration and the Independent Fiscal

Senate (Unabhängiger Finanzsenat, UFS) 125 6.2. Decisions of the Austrian Administrative Court and the

Constitutional Court 125 6.3. Preliminary rulings 126 6.4. Express Reply Services 127 7. Access to Taxpayers' Data by Individuais 127 7.1. Possible access to taxpayer's data by individuals 127 7.2. Consequences of giving Information subject to the tax law

Obligation of secrecy 129 7.3. State aid 129 8. Consequences of infringements 133

Belgium 135 Denis van Bortel and Robert Neyt 135 1. Overview 135 1.1. With respect to Privacy 135 1.2. With respect to Tax Law 135 2. Collection of Data 136 2.1. Overview of Information collected 136 2.1.1. Tax Declarations 136

X Table of Contents

2.1.2. TaxAudits 137 2.1.3. Specific information obligations 140 3. Special Relationships 141 3.1. Banks 141 3.2. Lawyers - Tax Advisors 143 3.3. Other I45 4. Sharing Information domestically 145 4.1. Within the tax authorities 145 4.1.1. Structure and Organization of the FPSF 145 4.1.2. Sharing of Information within the FPSF 146 4.2. With other authorities 148 4.2.1. General 148 4.2.2. Transfer of Information by other authorities to the FPSF 149 4.2.3. Transfer of information by the FPSF to other authorities 150 4.2.4. Special considerations regarding the sharing of information with

the Public Prosecutor's Office 151 5. Sharing Information internationally 153 5.1. Conventions on the avoidance of double taxation with respect to

taxes on income and capital 153 5.1.1. General 153 5.1.2. Recent development in relation to bank secrecy 155 5.2. Tax Exchange Information Agreements 157 5.3. Mutual Convention on Assistance in Tax Matters 157 5.4. Mutual Assistance Directive 158 5.5. Savings Directive 160 5.6. Other 160 5.7. Concluding remarks 161 6. Access to taxpayer's data by the public 162 6.1. Confidentiality of tax flies - Professional secrecy of tax officials ..162 6.2. Tax Rulings 162 6.3. Decisions of tax courts 163 6.4. Protection of Journalist sources in the tax administration and the

tax courts 164 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 164 8. Consequences of infringements 165

Brazil 169 Luis Eduardo Schoueri and Mateus Calicchio Barbosa 169 1. Secrecy and transparency: an overview of the Brazilian experience .. 169

Table of Contents XI

1.1. Secrecy 169 1.1.1. Legal provisions on secrecy 172 1.1.2. Summary 180 1.2. Transparency 181 1.2.1. Legal provisions on transparency 184 2. Collection of data 186 2.1. Collection of data and the limits of tax inspection: general

remarks 186 2.2. Legal provisions on the collection of data 187 3. Specific relationships 191 3.1. Banks 192 3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors 194 4. Sharing Information domestically 197 5. Sharing Information intemationally 199 5.1. Brazilian treaty policy: trends 201 6. Published decisions and the access to taxpayer's data by the public.. 202 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals and tax secrecy duty 203 8. Consequences of infringements 205

Canada 209 Allison Christians 209 1. Overview 209 1.1. Policy Issues 209 1.2. Historical Development 209 1.3. General Legal Framework 212 2. Collection of Data 219 2.1. How is Data Collected 219 2.2. What Kind of Information? 222 2.3. Proportionality and Other Relevant Principles 224 3. Specific Relationships 227 3.1. Banks 227 3.2. Lawyers-Tax Advisors 228 3.3. Other Professional Confidentialities 229 4. Sharing Information Domestically 231 4.1. Within Tax Authorities 231 4.2. With Other Authorities 232 5. Sharing Information Intemationally 233 6. Access to Taxpayers Data by the Public 235

Table of Contents

6.1. Published Decisions and Other Documents from the Courts and the Tax Administration 235

6.2. List of Taxpayers 235 6.3. Protection of Journalist Sources by the Tax Authorities 236 7. Access to Taxpayers' Data by Individuals 236 8. Consequences of Infringements 237

Chile 241 Felipe Yanez V 241 1. Overview 241 1.1. Policy issues 241 1.2. Historical development 244 1.3. General legal framework 250 2. Collection of data 254 2.1. How is data collected? 254 2.2. What kind of additional information? 256 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant principles 257 3. Specific relationships 258 3.1. Banks 258 3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors 260 3.3. Other types of professional confidentiality 262 4. Sharing Information domestically 262 4.1. Within the tax administration 262 4.2. With other authorities 263 5. Sharing Information internationally 263 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 264 6.1. Decisions by the tax administration and the courts 264 6.2. Lists of taxpayers 265 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in the tax administration and tax

courts 265 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 266 8. Consequences of infringements 266

China 273 Linghui Ren 273 1. Overview 273 1.1. Policy issues 273 1.2. Historical development 274 1.2.1. Development of methods for collecting tax information 274 1.2.2. Scope of tax transparency in China 276

Table of Contents XIII

1.3. General legal framework 277 2. Collection of data 279 2.1. How is data collected? 279 2.1.1. Means of data collection 279 2.1.2. Tools and means of enforcement 280 2.2. Proportionality 281 3. Specific relationships 282 3.1. Banks..... 282 3.1.1. Bank secrecy under the law 282 3.1.2. Mechanism for account Information transmission to the tax

authorities 283 3.1.3. Bank / taxpayer's right to appeal against an Information request.... 284 3.2. Lawyers 284 3.3. Certified Tax Agent (CTA) 285 4. Sharing Information domestically 286 4.1. Within the tax administration 286 4.1.1. Organization of the tax administration 286 4.1.2. Information transmission and sharing within the tax

administration 288 4.2. With other authorities 289 5. Sharing Information intemationally 289 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 293 6.1. Decisions by the tax administration and the courts 293 6.2. List of taxpayers 293 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 294 8. Consequences of infringements 294

Colombia 299 Esperanza Buitrago Diaz 299 1. Overview 299 1.1. Policy issues 299 1.2. Historical development 302 1.3. General legal framework 305 2. Collection of data 308 2.1. How is data collected? 308 2.2. What kind of additional Information? 312 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant principles 313 3. Specific relationships 315 3.1. Banks 315

XIV Table of Contents

3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors i 1 ® 3.3. Other types of professional confidentiality 319 4. Sharing information domestically 320 4.1. Within the Tax Administration 320 4.2. With other authorities 321 5. Sharing information internationally 323 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 326 6.1. Decisions by the Tax Administration and the courts 326 6.2. List of taxpayers 327 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in the Tax Administration and

tax courts 328 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 328 7.1. Tax data and Privacy Rights 328 7.2. Agreements with the Tax Administration 329 8. Consequences of infringements 330

Czech Republic 335 Lukää Moravec and Danuse Nerudovä 335 1. Overview 335 1.1. Policy issues 335 1.2. Historical development 336 1.3. General legal framework 338 2. Collection of data 339 2.1. How is data collected? 339 2.2. What kind of additional information? 342 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant principles 342 3. Specific relationships 342 3.1. Banks 342 3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors 344 3.3. Other types of professional confidentiality 346 4. Sharing Information domestically 347 4.1. Within the tax administration 347 4.2. With other authorities 348 5. Sharing information internationally 350 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 358 6.1. Decisions by the tax administration and the courts 358 6.2. List of taxpayers 360 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in the tax administration and tax

courts 361

Table of Contents XV

7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 361 8. Consequences of infringements 363

Estonia 367 Erki Uustalu 367 1. Overview 367 2. Collection of data 369 2.1. How is tax collected? 369 2.2. Principle of proportionality 370 3. Specific relationships 371 3.1. Banks 371 3.2. Lawyers 373 3.3. Other types of professional confidentiality 374 4. Sharing Information domestically 374 4.1. Within the tax authorities 3 74 4.2. Within other authorities 375 5. Sharing Information intemationally 376 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 377 6.1. Published decisions of the courts and the tax administration 377 6.2. List of taxpayers 379 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources by the tax authorities 379 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 380 8. Consequences of infringements 3 82

Finland 387 Kristiina Äimä and Kenneth Hellsten 387 1. Overview 387 2. Collection of data 389 2.1. How is data collected? 389 2.2. What kind of Information? 391 2.3. Legal principles 391 3. Specific relationships 392 3.1. Banks 392 3.2. Professional confidentiality 394 4. Sharing Information domestically 395 4.1. Within the tax administration 395 4.2. With other authorities 396 5. Sharing Information intemationally 399 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 403 6.1. Decisions by the Tax Administration and the courts 403

XVI Table of Contents

6.2. List of taxpayers 404 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 406 8. Consequences of infringements 408 8.1. Consequences of infringements by the person liable for tax 408 8.2. Consequences of infringements by third persons 410

France 411 Thomas Dubut 411 1. Overview 411 2. Collection of data 412 2.1. Tools and other means of enforcement 413 2.2. Protection of the rights of the taxpayer during data collection 415 2.3. Confidentiality of the data collected 417 3. Specific relationships 418 3.1. Bank secrecy 418 3.2. Lawyers, tax advisors/accountants and notaries 419 3.3. Other types of professional confidentiality and particularly

medical professional secrecy 421 4. Sharing information domestically 423 5. Sharing information internationally 424 5.1. DTCs with an exchange of information clause 424 5.2. TIEAs 428 5.3. EU Instruments 429 5.4. Council ofEurope 429 5.5. Domestic rules and case law conceming international exchange

of information 430 5.6. Tax Information exchange in practice 433 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 434 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 436 8. Consequences of infringements 437 8.1. General principles of French case law 437 8.2. Application of these general principles to cases 439

Germany 443 Matthias Valta 443 1. Overview 443 1.1. Policy issues and constitutional prerequisites 443 1.2. Historical development 444 1.3. General legal framework 445 2. Collection of data 445

Table of Contents XVII

2.1. How is data collected 445 2.1.1. General framework 445 2.1.2. Electronic collection andunique tax identification numbers 446 2.2. What kind of information? 448 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant principles 449 3. Specific relationships 449 3.1. Banks 449 3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors 453 3.3. Other types of professional confidentiality 454 4. Sharing Information domestically 455 4.1. Within the tax administration 455 4.2. With other authorities 456 5. Sharing information intemationally 457 5.1. International and EU law 457 5.1.1. Double Taxation Conventions 457 5.1.2. Tax Information Exchange Agreements 460 5.1.3. EU law 460 5.2. Unilateral discretionary sharing 460 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 461 6.1. Published decisions and other documents of the courts and the

tax administration 461 6.2. List of taxpayers 461 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in the tax administration and

tax courts 462 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 463 7.1. Competitor's complaints 463 7.2. Freedom of information legislation 464 8. Consequences of infringements 466 8.1. Tax secrecy 466 8.1.1. The case of A and B - breach of tax secrecy to the public 466 8.1.2. The case of C and D - breach of tax secrecy to the police 467 8.2. Bank secrecy 469 8.2.1. Criminal law consequences of a breach 469 8.2.2. Civil law consequences of a breach 471 8.2.3. Admissibility of the acquired evidence 472

Greece 479 Katerina Pantazatou 479 1. Overview 479

XVIII Table of Contents

1.1. Historical Development 479 1.2. General Legal Framework 480 2. Collection of Data 486 2.1. How is data collected? 486 2.2. Efficient collection of taxes 487 2.3. Preventative mechanisms 487 2.4. Ex ante review 488 2.5. Proportionality 489 3. Specific Relationships 491 3.1. Banks 491 3.2. Lawyers/Tax advisors 495 4. Sharing information domestically 497 5. Exchange of information internationally 498 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 501 6.1. Publication on the internet of overdue debtors to the State 501 6.2. Publication on the internet of politicians' assets 501 6.3. Publication of courts' decisions 501 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 502 7.1. The settlement/completion measure ("peraiosi") 502 7.2. Access to data 503 7.3. Publication on the internet of taxpayers' lists 504 8. Consequences of infringements 506

Hungary 511 Tamäs Feher 511 1. Overview 511 1.1. Historical Development and Policy Issues 511 1.2. General Legal Framework 513 2. Collection of data 515 2.1. How is data collected? 515 2.2. What kind of information? 520 2.3. Basic principles 522 3. Specific Relationships 524 3.1. Banks and other financial institutions 524 3.2. Lawyers and tax advisors 526 3.3. Other professional confidentialities 528 4. Sharing information domestically 528 4.1. Within tax authorities 528 4.2. With other authorities 531

Table of Contents XIX

5. Sharing Information intemationally 533 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 538 6.1. Published decisions of the courts and the tax administration 538 6.2. List of taxpayers 540 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources by the tax authorities 543 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 545 7.1. Agreements with taxpayers 545 7.2. Access to taxpayers' data by other interested parties 547 8. Consequences of infringements 548

Israel 555 Yinon Tzubery 555 1. Overview 555 1.1. Policy issues 555 1.2. Historical development 558 1.3. General legal framework 559 2. Collection of data 560 2.1. Collection of data from a taxpayer 560 2.2. Collection of data from a third party 563 3. Specific relationships 565 3.1. Banks 566 3.2. Lawyers 567 3.3. Accountants, tax advisers 568 3.4. Physicians, psychologists 568 3.5. Social workers 569 3.6. Religious leaders 569 3.7. Joumalists 569 4. Sharing Information domestically 570 4.1. Sharing information within the tax administration 570 4.2. Sharing information with other authorities 571 5. Sharing Information Intemationally 573 5.1. Legal Implementation of tax Conventions in domestic law 573 5.2. Exchange of Information in the tax Conventions signed by the

State of Israel 574 5.3. Additional information about the Israeli tax authority's practices

in implementing exchange of information under a tax Convention.. 577 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 577 6.1. Decisions of the Tax Administration 577 6.2. Court decisions 579

XX Table of Contents

6.3. Lists of taxpayers 580 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 581 8. Consequences of infringements 585

India 587 Sunil Gupta 587 1. Overview 587 1.1. Policy issues 587 1.2. Historical development 588 1.3. General legal framework 588 2. Collection of data 590 2.1. How is data collected? 590 2.2. What kind of additional information? 591 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant principles 593 3. Specific relationships 593 3.1. Banks 593 3.2. Lawyer/tax advisor 595 3.3. Other types of professional confidentiality 596 4. Sharing information domestically 596 4.1. Within the tax administration 596 4.2. With other authorities 597 5. Sharing Information internationally 597 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 602 6.1. Published decisions and other documents of the courts and the

tax administration 602 6.2. List of taxpayers 603 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 604 8. Consequences of infringements 607

Italy 609 Francesca Vitale 609 1. Overview 609 1.1. General legal framework and policy issues 609 1.2. Historical development 610 1.3. Privacy law and tax data 612 2. Collection of data 613 2.1. How is data collected? 613 2.2. The "Anagrafe Tributaria" 615 2.2.1. History and content 615 2.2.2. Privacy issues 617

Table of Contents XXI

3. Specific relationships 618 3.1. Banks and other financial institutions 618 3.1.1. Reporting obligations 619 3.1.2. Bank audits and assessments 621 3.2. Lawyers, tax advisors and other professional 622 3.3. The Obligation to "inform" the taxpayer 625 4. Sharing information domestically 626 4.1. Within the tax administration 626 4.2. With other authorities 627 5. Sharing information intemationally 627 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 630 6.1. Decisions by the tax administration and the courts 630 6.2. List of taxpayers 631 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 632 8. Consequences of infringements 634

Liechtenstein 639 Matthias Langer, and Martin Moosbrugger 639 1. Overview 639 2. Collection of data 640 2.1. How is data collected? 640 2.2. What kind of additional information? 641 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant principles 641 3. Specific relationships 642 3.1. Banks 642 3.2. Lawyers/ Fiduciaries 645 4. Sharing Information domestically 647 4.1. Within the tax administration 647 4.2. With other authorities 648 5. Sharing information intemationally 648 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 651 6.1. Decisions by the tax administration and the courts 651 6.2. List of taxpayers 652 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in the tax administration and tax


Luxembourg 657 Lionel Noguera, Anne Seibert and Katharina Müller 657

Table of Contents

1. Overview 657 1.1. Policy issues 658 1.1.1. General approach to data protection 658 1.1.2. Application to tax information 660 1.1.3. Transparency of tax information versus tax secrecy 661 1.1.4. Trends for the future? 662 1.2. Historical Development 662 1.2.1. Tax data collection 662 1.2.2. Tax secrecy development 663 1.3. General Legal Framework 664 1.3.1. Main principles 664 2. Collection of data 667 2.1. How is data collected - What kind of Information? 667 2.2. Proportionality and other relevant principles 669 2.2.1. Legal basis 669 2.2.2. Consequences 669 2.2.3. Other principles or other general provisions limiting the tax

authorities' right to collect data 669 3. Specific Relationships 670 3.1. Banks 670 3.1.1. Transmission of a bank's dient information to the tax authorities.. 670 3.1.2. Administrative assistance govemed by agreements to prevent

double taxation 673 3.1.3. Disclosing of information about a dient's affairs to the tax

authorities by a bank 674 3.1.4. Overruled bank secrecy 675 3.1.5. Client information on information disclosed by the bank 677 3.1.6. Client recourse 677 3.1.7. Use of information acquired upon an exchange of information

request 678 3.1.8. Rules on confidentiality 678 3.1.9. Waiver of bank secrecy 679 3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors 680 3.3. Other professional confidentialities 680 4. Sharing Information domestically 681 4.1. Within the tax authorities 681 4.1.1. Coordination between the national tax authorities 681 4.2. With other authorities 682

XXIV Table of Contents

1.1. Policy issues 723 1.1.1. General approach 723 1.1.2. Tax information 724 1.1.3. Trends 725 1.2. Historical development 725 1.2.1. Introduction 725 1.2.2. Development of the method to levy taxes 726 1.2.3. Development of the Obligation to provide Information 727 1.3. General Legal Framework 728 1.3.1. Obligation to provide information 728 1.3.2. Restrictions to the Obligation to provide information 728 2. Collection of data 729 2.1. General 729 2.2. Obligation to file a tax return 729 2.3. Information for the purpose of levying tax 730 2.3.1. Administrative Obligation 730 2.3.2. Information for the purpose of the taxpayer's own taxation 731 2.3.3. Information for the purpose of the taxation of third parties 732 2.3.4. New information Obligation as from 1 January 2012 732 2.4. Information for the purpose of collecting taxes 733 2.5. Legal protection 733 2.5.1. Legal protection with respect to information requests 733 2.5.2. Principles of proper administration 734 2.5.3. Human rights 736 2.6. Enforcement to achieve collection of information 737 3. Specific relationships 738 3.1. Banks 738 3.1.1. Providing information of their own accord 738 3.1.2. Providing information upon request 738 3.2. Lawyers / tax advisors and other professional confidentialities 740 4. Sharing Information domestically 741 4.1. Organization of the Netherlands tax administration 741 4.2. Sharing information within the Netherlands tax administration 742 4.3. Sharing Information with other authorities 743 5. Sharing information intemationally 743 5.1. Introduction 743 5.2. Obligation to exchange of information 744 5.2.1. International information exchange regulations 744

Table of Contents XXV

5.2.2. European information exchange regulations 745 5.2.3. National information exchange regulations 746 5.3. Confidentiality Obligation 747 5.4. Taxpayers' protection 747 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 748 6.1. Published decisions of the tax administration 748 6.2. Published decisions of the courts 749 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 751 7.1. Introduction 751 7.2. Agreements 751 7.3. The Netherlands ruling practice 752 7.4. Horizontal monitoring 753 8. Consequences of infringements 754 8.1. Introduction 754 8.2. Infringement of the Obligation to provide information to the

Netherlands tax administration 754 8.2.1. Shilling of the bürden of proof. 754 8.2.2. Tax penalties 755 8.2.3. Criminal prosecution 755 8.3. Infringements of the confidentiality Obligation by the Netherlands

tax administration 756 8.4. The use of information that is not obtained legally 756 8.5. Examples of the consequences of infringements 757

New Zealand 761 Shelley Griffiths 761 1. Overview 761 1.1. Policy issues 761 1.2. Historical development 765 1.3. General legal framework 766 2. Collection of data 768 3. Specific Relationships and Disclosure to the IRD 774 3.1. Banks 775 3.2. Lawyers/Tax advisors 776 4. Sharing Information Domestically 780 4.1. Within tax authorities 780 4.2. With other authorities 780 5. Sharing information internationally 780 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 783

Table of Contents XXIII

5. Sharing Information intemationally 682 5.1. Exchange of information 683 5.1.1. Scope 683 5.1.2. Impact of the exchange of information 683 5.2. Recovery assistance 684 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 684 6.1. Published decisions of the courts and the tax administration 684 6.2. List of taxpayers 685 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 685 8. Consequences of infringements 685

Mexico 693 Manuel Tron and Elias Adam Bitar 693 1. Overview 693 1.1. Policy issues 693 1.2. Historical development 695 1.3. General legal framework 697 2. Collection of data 701 2.1. How is data collected? 701 2.2. What kind of additional information? 706 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant phnciples 706 3. Specific relationships 707 3.1. Banks 707 3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors 712 3.3. Other types of professional confidentiality 713 4. Sharing information domestically 714 4.1. Within the tax administration 714 4.2. With other authorities 715 5. Sharing Information intemationally 715 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 716 6.1. Decisions by the tax administration and the courts 716 6.2. Lists of taxpayers 716 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in the tax administration and tax


Netherlands 723 Aijo van Eijsden, Kristy Jonas and Sanne Verhage 723 1. Overview 723

XXIV Table of Contents

1.1. Policy issues 723 1.1.1. General approach 723 1.1.2. Tax information 724 1.1.3. Trends 725 1.2. Historical development 725 1.2.1. Introduction 725 1.2.2. Development of the method to levy taxes 726 1.2.3. Development of the Obligation to provide Information 727 1.3. General Legal Framework 728 1.3.1. Obligation to provide information 728 1.3.2. Restrictions to the Obligation to provide Information 728 2. Collection of data 729 2.1. General 729 2.2. Obligation to file a tax return 729 2.3. Information for the purpose of levying tax 730 2.3.1. Administrative Obligation 730 2.3.2. Information for the purpose of the taxpayer's own taxation 731 2.3.3. Information for the purpose of the taxation of third parties 732 2.3.4. New information Obligation as from 1 January 2012 732 2.4. Information for the purpose of collecting taxes 733 2.5. Legal protection 733 2.5.1. Legal protection with respect to information requests 733 2.5.2. Principles of proper administration 734 2.5.3. Human rights 736 2.6. Enforcement to achieve collection of Information 737 3. Specific relationships 738 3.1. Banks 738 3.1.1. Providing information of their own accord 738 3.1.2. Providing information upon request 738 3.2. Lawyers / tax advisors and other professional confidentialities 740 4. Sharing information domestically 741 4.1. Organization of the Netherlands tax administration 741 4.2. Sharing Information within the Netherlands tax administration 742 4.3. Sharing Information with other authorities 743 5. Sharing Information internationally 743 5.1. Introduction 743 5.2. Obligation to exchange of information 744 5.2.1. International information exchange regulations 744

Table of Contents XXV

5.2.2. European information exchange regulations 745 5.2.3. National information exchange regulations 746 5.3. Confidentiality Obligation 747 5.4. Taxpayers' protection 747 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 748 6.1. Published decisions of the tax administration 748 6.2. Published decisions of the courts 749 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 751 7.1. Introduction 751 7.2. Agreements 751 7.3. The Netherlands ruling practice 752 7.4. Horizontal monitoring 753 8. Consequences of infringements 754 8.1. Introduction 754 8.2. Infringement of the Obligation to provide Information to the

Netherlands tax administration 754 8.2.1. Shifting of the bürden of proof. 754 8.2.2. Tax penalties 755 8.2.3. Criminal prosecution 755 8.3. Infringements of the confidentiality Obligation by the Netherlands

tax administration 756 8.4. The use of information that is not obtained legally 756 8.5. Examples of the consequences of infringements 757

New Zealand 761 Shelley Griffiths 761 1. Overview 761 1.1. Policy issues 761 1.2. Historical development 765 1.3. General legal framework 766 2. Collection of data 768 3. Specific Relationships and Disclosure to the IRD 774 3.1. Banks 775 3.2. Lawyers/Tax advisors 776 4. Sharing Information Domestically 780 4.1. Within tax authorities 780 4.2. With other authorities 780 5. Sharing information intemationally 780 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 783

XXVI Table of Contents

7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 783 8. Consequences of Infringement 785

Panama 793 Klaus Bieberach Schrieb! 793 1. Overview 793 1.1. Policy issues 793 1.2. Historical development 795 1.3. General legal framework 800 2. Collection of data 801 2.1. How is data collected? 801 2.2. What kind of additional Information? 804 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant principles 805 3. Specific relationships 805 3.1. Banks 805 3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors 806 3.3. Other types of professional confidentiality 807 4. Sharing information domestically 808 4.1. Within the tax administration 808 4.2. With other authorities 809 5. Sharing Information internationally 809 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 811 6.1. Decisions by the tax administration and the courts 811 6.2. List of taxpayers 811 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in the tax administration and tax


Poland 819 Hanna F ilipczyk 819 1. Overview 819 1.1. Policy Issues 819 1.2. Historical Development 819 1.3. General Legal Framework 820 1.4. Tax Administration and Tax Proceedings 822 2. Collection of Data 822 2.1. How Is Data Collected 822 2.2. Proportionality 825 3. Specific Relationships 826

Table of Contents XXVII

3.1. Banks 826 3.2. Lawyer/Tax Advisor 831 3.3. Other Professional Confidentialities and Restrictions 832 4. Sharing Information Domestically 833 4.1. Within Tax Authorities 833 4.2. With Other Authorities 833 5. Sharing Information Intemationally 834 6. Access to Taxpayers Data by the Public 838 6.1. Published Decisions and Other Documents from the Courts and

the Tax Administration 838 6.2. Access to Public Information - Aggregate Data 841 6.3. Exception to Tax Secrecy - Lists of Taxpayers Benefiting From

Public Aid 841 6.4. Protection of Journalist Sources in the Tax Administration and

Tax Courts 842 7. Access to Taxpayers Data by Individuals 843 7.1. Within Tax Proceedings - a Taxpayer vs. a Competitor 843 7.2. Outside Tax Proceedings - a Competitor vs. a Taxpayer 844 8. Consequence of Infringements 846

Portugal 851 Antonio Carlos dos Santos and Clotilde Celorico Palma 851 1. Overview 851 1.1. Policy issues 851 1.2. Historical Developments 853 1.3. General Legal Framework 855 1.3.1. Constitutional and general legal framework on the collection and

transmission of personal data 855 1.3.2. Specific legal framework of tax secrecy 857 2. Collection of data 859 2.1. How is data collected? 859 2.2. Additional Information 860 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant principles 860 3. Specific Relationships 862 3.1. Reasons for the limitation of protected secrecy 862 3.2. Banks 862 3.2.1. Bank secrecy 862 3.2.2. Restrictions on bank secrecy 864

XXVIII Table of Contents

3.2.3. The specific case of bank secrecy derogation by tax administrations 8(56

3.2.4. Some Statistical data 867 3.3. Lawyers 868 3.4. Tax advisors and other professional confidentialities 869 3.5. Professional confidentiality and testimony in criminal

proceedings 870 3.6. The case of abusive tax planning 870 4. Sharing information domestically 872 4.1. Within the tax authorities 872 4.2. With other authorities 872 4.2.1. With the National Commission for Data Protection 872 4.2.2. With the Public Prosecutor's Office 873 4.2.3. With the Judicial Police 873 4.2.4. With the Courts 873 5. Sharing Information internationally 874 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 877 6.1. Published decisions and other documents from courts and tax

administration 877 6.2. List of taxpayers 878 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 879 8. Consequences of infringements 880

Romania 887 Basarab Gogoneafä 887 1. Overview 887 1.1. Historical development and policy issues 887 1.2. General legal framework 888 2. Collection of data 889 2.1. How is data collected? 889 2.2. What kind of additional information? 891 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant principles 893 3. Specific relationships 894 3.1. Banks 894 3.2. Lawyers' and other Professionals' confidentiality 897 4. Sharing information domestically 900 4.1. Within the tax administration 900 4.2. With other authorities 900 5. Sharing information internationally 902

Table of Contents XXIX

6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 905 6.1. Decisions by the tax administration and the courts 905 6.2. Lists of taxpayers 907 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in the tax administration and tax

courts 909 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 909 B. Consequences of infringements 912

Russia 919 Danil V. Vinnitskiy 919 1. Overview 919 2. Collection of data 921 3. Special relationships 924 4. Sharing information domestically 926 5. Sharing information intemationally 927 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 933 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 934 8. Consequences of infringements 93 5

Seibia 939 Gordana Ilic-Popov and Svetislav V. Kostic 939 1. Overview 939 1.1. Policy Issues 939 1.2. Historical Development and General Legal Framework 942 2. Collection of Data 945 2.1. How is Data Collected? 945 2.2. What Kind of Additional Information? 948 2.3. Proportionality and Other Relevant Principles 949 3. Specific Relationships 950 3.1. Banks 950 3.2. Lawyers/Tax Advisors and Other Types of Professional

Confidentiality 952 4. Sharing Information Domestically 955 5. Sharing Information Intemationally 956 6. Access to Taxpayers' Data by the Public 961 6.1. Decisions by the Tax Administration and the Courts 961 6.2. Lists of Taxpayers 962 6.3. Protection of Journalist Sources in the Tax Administration and

Tax Courts 962 7. Access to Taxpayers' Data by Individuals 963

XXX Table of Contents

8. Consequences of Infringements 964 Slovenia 967

Lidija Hauptman and Sabina Taskar Beloglavec 967 1. Overview 967 1.1. General Legal Framework 967 2. Collection of data 968 3. Specific Relationships 971 3.1. Banks 971 3.2. Lawyer/tax advisor 979 3.3. Other professional confldentialities 983 4. Sharing Information domestically 985 4.1. Within the tax authorities 985 4.2. With other authorities 988 5. Sharing Information internationally 991 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 993 6.1. Published decisions of the courts and the tax administration 994 6.2. List of taxpayers 994 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources by the tax authorities 994 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 995 8. Consequences of infringements 996

South Korea 1001 Hyejung Byun 1001 1. Overview 1001 1.1. Introduction 1001 1.1.1. Overview of the Korean Legal and Tax Systems 1001 1.2. Historical Development 1002 1.2.1. Historical Development: Public Information Disclosure 1002 1.2.2. Historical Development: Collecting Tax Data 1004 1.3. General Legal Frame: Tax Secrecy and Tax Transparency 1004 1.3.1. Legal Frame: Tax Secrecy 1005 1.3.2. Legal Frame: Tax Transparency 1006 1.4. Balance between Tax Secrecy and Tax Transparency 1007 2. Collection of Data 1009 2.1. How is data collected? 1009 2.1.1. Collecting Tax Data: General 1009 2.1.2. Information Technology System 1011 2.2. What kind of additional information? 1013 2.3. Proportionality and Other Relevant Principles 1014

Table of Contents XXXI

2.3.1. Principle of Proportionality in Korea 1014 2.3.2. Proportionality on Collecting Tax Data 1014 3. Specific relationships 1015 3.1. Banks 1015 3.1.1. Access to Bank Information: Domestically 1015 3.1.2. Access to Bank Information: Intemationally 1015 3.2. Lawyer/Tax Advisor 1015 4. Sharing Information domestically 1016 4.1. Within the Tax Authorities 1016 4.2. With Other Authorities 1017 4.2.1. From Tax Authorities to Other Authorities 1017 4.2.2. From Other Authorities to Tax Authorities 1018 5. Sharing Information intemationally 1019 5.1. Double Tax Conventions 1019 5.2. Other International Agreements 1020 5.3. Domestic Rules 1020 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 1021 6.1. Decisions by the Tax Administration and the Courts 1021 6.1.1. Decisions by the Tax Administration 1022 6.1.2. Decisions by Courts 1022 6.2. List of Taxpayers 1023 6.3. Protection of Journalist Sources in the Tax Administration and

Tax Courts 1023 6.4. Election Candidates 1024 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 1024 8. Consequences of infringements 1024

Spain 1027 Fernando Serrano Antön 1027 1. Overview 1027 1.1. Policy issues 1027 1.2. Historical development 1031 1.3. General legal framework 1033 2. Collection of data 1036 2.1. How is data collected? 1036 2.2. Proportionality and other relevant principles 1041 3. Specific relationships 1044 3.1. Banks 1044 3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors 1051

XXXII Table of Contents

3.3. Other types of professional confidentiality 1056 4. Sharing information domestically 1057 4.1. Within the tax administration 1057 4.2. With other authorities 1059 5. Sharing Information internationally 1060 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 1068 6.1. Decisions by the tax administration and the courts 1068 6.2. List of taxpayers 1070 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in the tax administration and

tax courts 1071 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 1072 8. Consequences of infringements 1074

Sweden 1079 Eleonor Kristoffersson, Annina H. Persson, Joakim Nergelius, Filippo Valguarnera, Anna-Maria Hambre and Ylva Larsson 1079 1. Overview 1079 1.1. The Swedish Tax Return 1079 1.2. Policy Issues and General Legal Framework 1080 2. Collection of Data 1085 3. Specific relationships 1087 3.1. Banks 1087 3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors and others 1092 4. Sharing information domestically 1094 4.1. Within the tax administration 1094 4.2. With Other Authorities 1094 4.3. Duty to provide information between authorities/agencies 1095 4.4. Confidentiality between authorities 1095 4.5. The general clause 1095 4.6. Necessary reporting 1096 5. Sharing Information internationally 1096 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 1099 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 1100 8. Consequences of infringements 1101

Switzerland 1111 Michael Beusch 1111 1. Overview 1111 2. Collection of data 1113 3. Specific Relationships 1117

Table of Contents XXXIII

3.1. Bank 1117 3.2. Lawyers/Fiduciaries 1119 4. Sharing information domestically 1119 5. Sharing Information intemationally 1121 6. Access to taxpayers' data by the public 1126 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 1128 8. Consequences of infringements 1129

Turkey 1135 Emrah Ferhatoglu 1135 1. Overview 1135 1.1. General Approach to Data Protection in Turkey 1135 1.2. Tax Secrecy in Turkish Law 1137 1.3. General Legal Framework 1137 1.3.1. Persons Covered (officials) 1138 1.3.2. Persons Covered (taxpayers) 1139 1.3.3. Information Covered 1139 1.4. General Legal Framework of Tax Transparency 1139 1.5. The Balance between Tax Secrecy and Tax Transparency 1141 2. Collection of Data 1142 2.1. Self-Assessment System 1142 2.2. Methods of Collecting Data other than Self-assessment System... 1143 2.2.1. Obligation to Give Information on Request 1144 2.2.2. Continuous Provision of Information 1145 2.2.3. Information Database 1146 2.3. The Principle of Proportionality in Collecting Information 1146 3. Specific Relationships 1147 3.1. Banks 1147 3.1.1. Bank Secrecy 1147 3.1.2. The Obligation of Banks to Give Information in Taxation

Matters 1149 3.2. Lawyers 1150 4. Sharing Information Domestically 1151 4.1. Within the tax administration 1151 4.2. With other authorities 1151 5. Sharing Information Intemationally 1152 6. Access to Taxpayers' Data by the Public 1153 6.1. Published Decisions from the Courts and Tax Administration 1153 6.2. Lists of Taxpayers 1154

XXXIV Table of Contents

7. Access to Taxpayers' Data by Individuals 1155 7.1. The Agreements between the Tax Administration and Taxpayers 1155 7.2 The Law on Right to Information 1156 8. Consequences of Infringements 1157

USA H63 Joshua D. Blank 1163 1. Overview 1163 1.1. Policy Issues 1163 1.2. Historical development 1165 1.3. General legal framework 1169 2. Collection of Data 1170 2.1. How is data collected? 1170 2.2. What kind of additional information? 1172 2.3. Proportionality and other relevant principles 1172 3. Specific relationships 1172 3.1. Banks 1172 3.2. Lawyers/tax advisors 1174 4. Sharing Information Domestically 1175 5. Sharing Information Internationally 1175 6. Access to Data by the Public 1176 6.1. Decisions by the tax administration and the courts 1176 6.1.1. Tax Enforcement Successes That the Public Sees 1177 6.1.2. Tax Enforcement Weaknesses That the Public Does Not See 1182 6.1.3. Strategie Publicity and Tax Compliance 1185 6.2. List of taxpayers 1186 6.3. Protection of Journalist sources in the tax administration and

tax courts 1187 7. Access to taxpayers' data by individuals 1187 8. Consequences of Infringement 1188

List of Contributors 1193 Index 1209