Taxpayers Rights in Comparative Perspective. The Protection of Tax Related Information of Individual Taxpayers and the Rationale Behind It. A comparison between the legal systems of Germany and the United States

Bachelor Thesis , 2017 , 38 Pages , Grade: 9 Punkte

Law - Tax / Fiscal Law

Taxpayers are obliged to file their annual returns which the state needs to fund its expenses for society. By doing so, sensitive and personal information are disclosed to the respective tax administration. Inevitably, the issue of disclosing relevant information arises as well as the question of how to treat the information without harming the basic rights of an individual taxpayer. This thesis contributes to the issue of disclosing tax related information by focusing on tax confidentiality, its development and status, the current legal framework, and the rationale behind the approaches of tax confidentiality, undertaken by different legal systems. More specific, this thesis incorporates a comparison between the jurisdictions of Germany and the United States, examining their national legislative rules on tax confidentiality. By elaborating upon the similarities, differences, and the rationale of tax confidentiality in both systems, the thesis will uncover the fact, that both, Germany and the U.S. have a high level of confidentiality. There exist, however, interesting differences related to the level of confidentiality, and this thesis will conclude that the German system has a higher level of confidentiality, for instance in relation to the exceptions to tax confidentiality.

Table of Contents

Introduction

I Germany
Historical Development of Tax Confidentiality
Legal Framework of Tax Confidentiality
§ 30 (1) and § 30 (3) AO - The Scope of Tax Confidentiality
§ 30 (2) AO - Breach of Duty
§ 30 (4) AO - Exceptions to Tax Confidentiality
§ 30 (5) AO - Disclosure in case of Intentional False Statements
§ 40 AO - Actions contrary to the Law
Consequences of a Violation of § 30

II United States of America
Historical development of Tax confidentiality
Legal Framework of Tax Confidentiality
Freedom of Information Act and Internal Revenue Code
§ 6103 (a) and § 6103 (b) IRC - Definitions
§ 6103 (c) IRC - Disclosure of Returns and Return information to designee of Taxpayer
§ 6103 (h) (4) IRC - Disclosure in juridical and administrative proceedings
§ 6103 (m) - Disclosure of Taxpayer Identity Information
§ 6110 IRS - Public Inspection of Written Documents

III Comparison
Historical Development of Tax Confidentiality
Confidentiality as a right - Status in Constitution
Legal Framework of Tax Confidentiality
Possible Exceptions to Tax Confidentiality
Violation of Tax Confidentiality

IV Rationale

Conclusion

Bibliography

TAXPAYERS RIGHTS

• College: Maastricht University (Faculty of Law)
• Grade: 9 Punkte
• Author: Nadja Büngers (Author)
• Publication Year: 2017
• Pages: 38
• Catalog Number: V379630
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668567733
• ISBN (Book): 9783668567740
• Language: English
• Tags: Legal Comparison, Taxpayersrights Germany US