Issue 11 2021

40 Acquisition International - Issue 11 2021 Sep21288 and breaches of Taxpayers’ Rights that are being committed by tax authorities around the world. One negative development that he has noticed, and which is on the increase, is that taxpayers (both corporate and private) are having to bear the financial risks involved in the malpractice, mistakes and other errors committed by the tax authorities. The author has seen incredibly poor tax assessments that have been conducted by the tax authorities, where the tax inspectors involved have lacked a basic knowledge and understanding of fiscal matters. For example, one taxpayer battled against incompetent tax inspectors for nearly ten years before finally winning his case, but the tax authorities only paid 5% of his legal expenses. This case was a very ugly case where the rights of this taxpayer were simply an illusion – he did nothing wrong; he could not be blamed for anything – the tax authorities committed a long list of errors and were to blame. Unfortunately, the tax authorities never admitted their incompetence and it was the taxpayer who had to pay for ten years of abuse and malpractice on the part of the tax authorities. Taxpayers’ Rights should not just be a meaningless phrase or illusion, they should be legal rights that taxpayers can rely on and that the tax authorities should be forced to adopt and comply with. Taxpayers’ Rights: Unfortunately Just an Illusion axpayers’ Rights are one of our most important legal concepts because they protect taxpayers from abuse and from incorrect and unfair taxation. They also provide themwith certain important legal rights. Unfortunately, this concept is often just an illusion as the tax authorities often seem to believe that their main purpose is to collect as much tax as possible, irrespective of whether or not it is correct. Taxpayers’ Rights include legal rights such as: - The right to pay no more tax than the correct amount. - The right to a fair and just tax system. - The right to expect the tax system to consider facts and circumstances that might affect their underlying liabilities, ability to pay, or ability to provide timely information. - The right to quality service from the tax authorities. - The right to receive prompt, courteous and professional assistance in their dealings with the tax authorities. - The right to receive compensation for any errors or mistakes made by the authorities, including errors resulting from erroneous interpretation of the law, a lack of adequate education and experience among tax inspectors and any other errors committed by the authorities. The author of this article is an experienced global tax advisor and has been working in the field of taxation since 1981. Unfortunately, he is experiencing a significant increase in the serious offences, abuse T Words by Chartered Global Tax Advisor K. Olsen, Norway. Dr Knut Olsen has won the award for Leading Taxation and Anti-Corruption Lawyer of the Year, Norway at the Acquisition International Leading Adviser Awards 2021. Contact: Knut Olsen Company: Dr. K. Olsen Global Tax Web Address: https://www.knutolsen.com/