EUCON experts traditionally participated the annual Tax Connections Day 2020 held on November 19 on-line. Within the event Volodymyr Bevza, Advisor, Attorney-at-Law of EUCON Legal Group told the participants about the fault of the taxpayer in the tax violation in terms of the prospects of the first practice.
Thus, Mr. Bevza assured the audience that fears about such an innovation as the fault of the taxpayer are useless, as such a change will accumulate an improvement in the situation with the application of fines to taxpayers by regulators in favour of business. To prove it he mentioned that, firstly, the supervisory authority would have to prove the taxpayer’s undeniable fault, and secondly, the taxpayers would have more tools to appeal the fines. In addition, the lawyer stressed that the legislator provided that all questionable aspects in the interpretation of the fault of the payer will be interpreted in favour of the latter.
Besides, Volodymyr Bevza highlighted the positive aspects of the changes, in particular: preventive and normative, since it will be more difficult for tax officers to apply a fine to a tax-payer (preventive), and there were set the guidelines for appealing fines (normative).
The speaker emphasized that the courts have been using the concept of fault for quite a long time, namely they find out if there is the fault of the payer when appealing fines. Hence, enshrining in the code of fault concept will only help to protect the rights of payers.
“The key to success while defending the position of taxpayers to reduce the fines imposed by tax authorities is to use the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, judicial and legal doctrines, Convention standards,” – assures Volodymyr Bevza.
At the conclusion of his speech, the EUCON expert shared his views on future trends, which are closely related to the application of fault in the imposition and appeal of fines with the existing practice of the Supreme Court formed absolutely in favour of payers.
