Taxpayers Data Protection

In this article, the author analyses whether existing international instruments - OECD, regional regulations - EU, and domestic data protection laws - Brazil, effectively safeguard taxpayers' rights to data protection, particularly in automatic exchange of information procedures.Ongoing developments in terms of internalization and digitalization of the economy have resulted in an ever-developing worldwide shift towards a data-driven socioeconomic model whereby personal data has become one of the most valuable assets. The tax environment has not gone unscathed. As relevant sources and users of data, governments are increasingly exploiting technologies in pursuit of greater revenue collection and tax audits for which many measures have been adopted internationally, regionally, and nationally to strengthen tax cooperation and enhance international tax exchange of information (EoI) among jurisdictions. A remarkable outcome is the new standard of automated processing and transfer of bulks of taxpayers' data that, albeit desired by tax administrations, inherently raises concerns over the risks of violation of data protection rights. In this article, the author analyses whether existing international instruments (OECD), regional regulations (EU), and domestic data protection laws (Brazil) effectively safeguard taxpayers' rights to data protection, particularly in (A)EoI procedures. Building upon the findings of this analysis, the author concludes that an adequate and satisfactory level of protection has not yet been implemented globally and proposes a temporary solution for the issue in the absence of specific instruments dealing with taxpayers' data protection in (A)EoI procedures.

With the automatic exchange of information on tax matters (AEOI) developing into the new international standard, large quantities of information have been or will be subject to cross-border transfer. As a result, data play a significant role in the mechanism. Although the European Union is equipped with various legal sources in data protection, guarantees provided to taxpayers in AEOI legal instruments need to be further developed in order to be consistent with those provided by data protection rules in the European Union. This article analyses taxpayers' right to data protection by studying the interrelationships between rules in EU Directives regarding administrative administration and those regarding data protection. Moreover, relevant Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law is discussed in light of the afore-mentioned rules, highlighting the insufficiencies of prevailing AEOI legislation in ensuring proportionality and taxpayer protection in third countries. Finally, the newly adopted General Data Protection Regulation is assessed.

This timely book provides a holistic analysis of the exchange of information procedures for tax purposes within the EU from an administrative law and tax law perspective. It explores how procedural and substantive taxpayers’ rights are affected by exchange of information processes, and rigorously examines the effectiveness of the current legal framework.

This ground-breaking book brings clarity to the dynamically developing field of international tax law. It empowers individuals and corporate taxpayers to navigate their way around and helps tax authorities take taxpayers' rights into account from the beginning. The book is the result of several years of research conducted with the support of the International Law Association. Taxpayers in International Law puts taxpayers' rights on the global international tax agenda as the necessary counterweight and complement to Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). Importantly, it pleads for a global minimum standard of legal protection of the fundamental rights of taxpayers and extracts the content of such rights from relevant constitutional principles of many countries around the world. The book is structured in 3 parts: Part I focusses on the legal sources and on the relations between taxation and international human rights law. Part II identifies general principles and specific taxpayers' rights, groups them into 3 categories (procedural, related to sanctions, and substantive), and analyses the different implications that arise in each of them. Part III features concrete proposals for establishing a global framework for the protection of taxpayers' rights, including guidelines for tax authorities. The book is a unique instrument for the daily work of practitioners and international tax scholars interested in securing the protection of taxpayer's fundamental rights, as well as for those involved in tax collection worldwide. Taxpayers can refer to the book to find out which rulings and concepts can help them enforce their rights; tax authorities and judges can use the book to verify which rights have to be respected.

"The United States Code is the official codification of the general and permanent laws of the United States of America. The Code was first published in 1926, and a new edition of the code has been published every six years since 1934. The 2012 edition of the Code incorporates laws enacted through the One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Second Session, the last of which was signed by the President on January 15, 2013. It does not include laws of the One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, enacted between January 2, 2013, the date it convened, and January 15, 2013. By statutory authority this edition may be cited "U.S.C. 2012 ed." As adopted in 1926, the Code established prima facie the general and permanent laws of the United States. The underlying statutes reprinted in the Code remained in effect and controlled over the Code in case of any discrepancy. In 1947, Congress began enacting individual titles of the Code into positive law. When a title is enacted into positive law, the underlying statutes are repealed and the title then becomes legal evidence of the law. Currently, 26 of the 51 titles in the Code have been so enacted. These are identified in the table of titles near the beginning of each volume. The Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives continues to prepare legislation pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 285b to enact the remainder of the Code, on a title-by-title basis, into positive law. The 2012 edition of the Code was prepared and published under the supervision of Ralph V. Seep, Law Revision Counsel. Grateful acknowledgment is made of the contributions by all who helped in this work, particularly the staffs of the Office of the Law Revision Counsel and the Government Printing Office"--Preface.

Widespread voluntary tax compliance plays a significant role in countries’ efforts to raise the revenues necessary to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. As part of this process, governments are increasingly reaching out to taxpayers – current and future – to teach, communicate and assist them in order to foster a “culture of compliance” based on rights and responsibilities, in which citizens see paying taxes as an integral aspect of their relationship with their government.

The goal of this contribution is to address the complex relationship between taxation law and the protection of taxpayers' data, primarily from the perspective of EU data protection law and in connection with mechanisms of exchange of information. This article points out at the outset that the legislation protecting personal data in tax matters at EU level is still rather fragmented, and that the body of jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union and of the European Court of Human Rights has not yet fully developed specific guidance, especially as regards the compatibility of automatic exchange of information with the right to the protection of personal data. In light of this, the research takes as a reference point the case law on the right to the protection of personal data in matters not related to taxation, with a view to assessing whether useful indications and principles could be transposed to the field of taxation. In addition, the analysis offers some insights into (i) the available safeguards in the hands of taxpayers during the processing of their personal data by tax authorities; and (ii) the consequences of the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation for Directive 2011/16/EU on exchange of information in tax matters, and for international agreements based on the FATCA and CRS frameworks.Full-text Paper.