Project R-14485

The impact of European fundamental rights on the treatment of the taxpayer in the Belgian Tax Procedure (Research)

There ought to exist a pronounced impact of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the European Union legal framework on Belgian tax (procedural) law and practice. The place reserved for these fundamental rights - and the degree of protection they offer the Belgian taxpayer - in the Belgian tax procedure is less clear, however. Taxpayers are, first and foremost, human. They should thus enjoy the protection that the prevailing national and international legal framework (ought to) offer them. Yet, the emphasis in the development of national, international, and European legislative initiatives in the development of tax-related (research) competences is very often put on combating tax evasion. This is certainly justified, given the great progress that has already been made in this regard. However, one risks overlooking the fact that, at the other end of the investigative powers awarded to the national governments, there is also another party - namely, the taxpayer. Rather, the rights of taxpayers remain underexposed in this process. Indeed, from declaration to collection of taxes owed, practices occur in the Belgian tax procedures that can be at the very least be called questionable in the light of European fundamental rights protection. From Antigone in fiscalibus to penalty payments when obstructing the tax investigation, and the newly extended time limits at the disposal of the tax administration since the end of 2022, the line between what is permissible and what occurs in practice is not always evident. Consequently, such practices do not always appear to be in line with the fundamental rights protection guaranteed by the EU. This dissertation aims to expose these potentially problematic areas of constraint and subsequentially, to formulate recommendations to reform or adjust these practices on the basis of a comparative la study with other European member states (i.e. Germany and France), in order to bring the Belgian tax procedure in line with the fundamental rights protection duly owed to taxpayers in the Belgian tax procedure.

01 October 2023 - 30 September 2027