As part of the "It's my right" campaign, The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) has received numerous complaints from citizens about the difficulties and challenges in the relationship between taxpayers and ANAF.
By organising the debate "TAX vs Citizen", FACIAS invites all interested parties - taxpayers, tax experts, ANAF representatives and policy makers - to participate in an open and constructive discussion. This debate, dedicated to exploring and identifying solutions to problems raised by citizens, aims to bring the experiences and voices of taxpayers to the fore.
The debate will take place on 22 February, starting at 11.00 in the Human Rights Room of the Palace of Parliament.
Perhaps the most important complaint of taxpayers in their dealings with ANAF is the inequality before the law and the uneven application of penalties between the citizen and the tax authority. Specifically, taxpayers have to pay late penalties and surcharges that are not reciprocally applied when ANAF fails to meet deadlines.
Another common abnormality in practice concerns the distraint enforcement process, which raises serious issues about the efficiency and speed of unblocking bank accounts once debts have been paid - taxpayers cannot benefit from the resources in their accounts for days on end, even if the debt has been paid. In addition, limitation periods are different for debts held by the state compared to those held by the citizen.
The vast majority of citizens who referred their concerns to FACIAS stressed the need to ensure a balance between the rights and obligations of taxpayers and those of the state.
The debate "TAX vs. Citizen" aims to bring these issues to the attention of the public and policy makers in order to identify and implement the solutions needed to build a fair and efficient tax system.