Principles of Regulation of Tax Relations in Romania

Abstract

The maintenance of a balance between the proper execution of a state’s functions and individual interests is secured by the principles of regulation of tax relations. Such principles are defined by the constitutions and the tax legislations of foreign countries. The modern interpretation of the principles of regulation of tax relations is revealed by the relevant jurisprudence. The present article addresses matters of interest for Russia of the application of principles of regulation of tax relations in Romania. Such regulation is based, particularly, on the principles of legality, certainty and specificity, as well as bona fide of the taxpayer. The principles of proportionality and effectiveness of the EU apply in addition to the national level of legal regulation. The guarantor of the observance of such principles is the court: the biggest part of decisions on tax disputes are in favour of the taxpayer. The article represents an attempt to systematize the distinctive features of the realization of the aforementioned principles in the context of the analysis of the relevant jurisprudence of national courts of Romania (the appeal courts, the High court of cassation and justice and the Constitutional court), as well as of the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. The identified distinctive features relate to the following matters: compliance with the constitutionally stipulated procedure of enacting tax laws and elimination of contradictions between secondary legislation and tax laws, inadmissibility of the retroactivity of the law, application of legal methods of ascertaining the risk of taxpayers who are to be verified, as well as compliance with tax secrecy requirements. The article contains examples of jurisprudence in the matter of accountability of a state in civil procedure for the illegal appropriation of funds from the taxpayer in the practice of national courts and of the European Court of Justice.