Tax Mediation – an Alternative to the Resolution of Disputes between Taxpayers and the Local Tax Administration

Abstract

Local taxes and fees are of interest to both the public authorities and the taxpayer. The level of local taxes and fees guides the way the local budget is prepared and outlines the main investment objectives at the community level. The taxpayer has become increasingly interested in what he pays in local taxes and fees because he has realized that this effort on his part must be reflected in the level of well-being of the community in which he lives. This study aims at an analysis of tax mediation in Romania, as a distinct, special, and voluntary procedure between the tax institution and the debtor taxpayer, without the presence of the mediator as a third person, neutral and independent, comparing the institution of tax mediator in Romania with other EU countries presentation of the stages of mediation and its advantages in favor of both parties. The reality proves that there are numerous situations when fiscal administrative acts issued by the local taxes and fees service are the object of appeals before the issuing public authorities and the administrative-fiscal contentious courts. It complicates the activity of both local public authorities and courts, adds time consumption and financial costs, and fiscal mediation proves to be an optimal solution.