The Taxpayer’s Right to Privacy in Context of the Article 48 of the Polish Act on National Revenue Administration (KAS)

Abstract

The considerations concern a problem that is rarely raised on the basis of tax issues, namely the taxpayer's right to privacy. They are carried out in the context of one of the legal regulations which has a significant impact on the development of the protection of the privacy of the taxpayer. It should be noted that the changes to tax rules introduced in the last decade clearly indicate that the tax legislator shifts the boundaries of the taxpayer's inviolable privacy sphere. In the first part, an theoretical understanding of the notion of taxpayer's privacy will be considered. The considerations will serve as a starting point for the second part of the discussion, which focuses on the taxpayer’s right to privacy by exploring normative basis for protection of taxpayer’s privacy. The following third part addresses how specific tax rules affect the development of the protected and inviolable sphere of the privacy of a taxpayer. The study carried out leads inter alia to conclusion that the current status of the taxpayer's right to privacy seems questionable and not spotted enough, as the legislator invasions the private sphere of taxpayers using a number of tools to this end. The author therefore argues that the strengthening and updating the taxpayer's right to privacy protection is necessary. JEL Classification: K34