Weighing the Interest of the Obliged and the Public Interest in the Polish Tax Law

Abstract

The contribution deals with the introduction into Polish law the principle of weighing the interest of the obligee and the public interest, which will probably be adopted in the new Tax Ordinance Act in Poland in 2019. The considerations in this paper result in a few observations. First, the rule under discussion will be applied both in reference to the provisions of substantive actions taken by tax authorities on the basis of the regulations included in the Tax Ordinance, but also on the basis of other provisions of tax law applied by these tax authorities. Second, the above-mentioned rule will be applicable at the stage of tax law application. It should also be applied in the context of creating tax law. Third, from the essence of this rule results a directive prescribing the interpretation of doubts including the interest of both parties of the tax legal relation. The interpretation of the provisions of tax law through the prism of the rule of weighing interests should be treated as an element of the process of the systemic interpretation. Fourth, the essence of this rule indicates that it should be also taken into consideration in the context of applying the provisions of tax law.