Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 and the Right to Privacy. An Attempt to Answer the Preliminary Question in Case C-694/20

Through an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the Belgian Constitutional Court intends to obtain an answer to the question related to the compatibility of Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 with the fundamental right to respect for private life. The mechanism provided by this Directive may violate this right because it consists in obliging the lawyer who has invoked the Legal Professional Privilege to provide information about the evasion of the obligation to inform the authorities about the cross-border arrangement. This arrangement may amount to tax avoidance by the client. I will try to predict the possible response of the CJEU by analyzing its previous case law. Interference with fundamental rights must be proportionate. The secrecy of the lawyer’s communication with his client deserves special protection. The proportionality of the interference may be evidenced by filters such as judicial supervision, intermediation by an independent authority etc

Fundamental Rights and the Obligation to Publicly Disclose Information on Tax Strategy

The aim of the article: The presented study concerns the problem of violations of fundamental rights caused by the law regulation contained in art. 27c of the Corporate Income Tax Act in Poland. This regulation provides obligation to publish information about introduced tax strategies. Yet, it may endanger many human rights and this article focuses on two of them – the right to remain silent, and the right of privacy. The aim of this article is to make an analysis of the standards presented by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. Additionally, the standard presented by the Polish Constitutional Court is presented.Methodology: To decode these standards the comparative law method is used. Especially the case laws of these courts are presented and additionally, they are completed by the comparison of the acts that concern similar law institutions but come from different lawmakers.Results of the research: The results of the study do not provide a clear answer. However, they do allow for an approximation of the issue of possible violations of fundamental rights by the analyzed regulation. It is very likely that the analyzed regulation violates the right to remain silent and it is even close to certainty that the analyzed laws violate the right to privacy. The problem is not only the interference in these rights, but in its character as well. Under certain circumstances, interference with fundamental rights is acceptable but must be proportionate. Examined laws are only explained in terms of budgetary balance and the academic world points out that the purpose of this type of regulation is mainly of administrative convenience. This is far too little to consider this interference with fundamental rights imperative

Commentary on the Basis of the Instrumental Initiation of Fiscal Penal Proceedings and the Right to Court of the Resolution of the Supreme Administrative Court I Fps 1/21 – Judicial Control

The purpose of the article/hypothesis: The presented article focuses on a new resolution of the Supreme Administrative Court I FPS 1/21. In this resolution an assessment of instrumental initiation of criminal fiscal proceedings in order to suspend the running of the limitation period of a tax liability has been undertaken. The Supreme Administrative Court assessed that administrative courts have the right to examine the legitimacy of initiation of such proceedings. This position is important insofar as it also touches upon the issue of the right to a fair trial, as well as the right to property and legal certainty. The main aim of this article is to check the impact of this resolution on described fundamental rights.Methodology: This article will use the comparative law method. Especially the case law of different courts will be shown. The dogmatic-legal method will also be used as an auxiliary.Results of the research: This resolution is crucial for the fundamental right for fail trial. It has also impact on the right to property and principle of legal certainity. It may also be some element that strengthens the rule of law.The purpose of the article/hypothesis: The presented article focuses on a new resolution of the Supreme Administrative Court I FPS 1/21. In this resolution an assessment of instrumental initiation of criminal fiscal proceedings in order to suspend the running of the limitation period of a tax liability has been undertaken. The Supreme Administrative Court assessed that administrative courts have the right to examine the legitimacy of initiation of such proceedings. This position is important insofar as it also touches upon the issue of the right to a fair trial, as well as the right to property and legal certainty. The main aim of this article is to check the impact of this resolution on described fundamental rights.Methodology: This article will use the comparative law method. Especially the case law of different courts will be shown. The dogmatic-legal method will also be used as an auxiliary.Results of the research: This resolution is crucial for the fundamental right for fail trial. It has also impact on the right to property and principle of legal certainity. It may also be some element that strengthens the rule of law

Optical characteristics of a-Si: H layers deposited by PACVD at various temperatures

Amorphous a-Si:H layers fabricated by plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition are studied. The layers were grown on monocrystalline silicon at various temperatures, ranging from the room temperature to 400 °C. Structure and chemical composition (hydrogen content) of the layers were characterized by use of fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A main attention in the studies was focused on optical properties of the layers. The respective measurements were made by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry within 170–1900 nm spectral range, at room temperature and during post-annealing the sample up to 400 °C. The Kramers–Krönig optical model was matched to the ellipsometric angle spectra, Ψ(λ) and Δ(λ), and hence the layers’ thicknesses and optical indices were calculated. The band gap of the studied materials was calculated from the Tauc expression for the extinction index near the band edge. The results show that the layers deposited at 150 °C have similar properties. Their growth rate is higher than 0.1 nm/s and hydrogen content does not exceed 10 at.%. All they have relatively high refractive index within visible light range. The highest refractive index is for the layer deposited at 400 °C and reaches almost 4.0 at 460 nm. The band gap of all layers deposited at 150 °C and above exceeds 2 eV but is not higher than 2.4 eV. The band gap of the layers deposited below 150 °C is less than 2 eV. Post-annealing of the layers for 40 min at 400 °C does not change their optical indices but clearly reduces the depolarization

Towards the unified description of light and heavy hadrons in the bag model approach

Mass spectra of ground state hadrons containing u-, d-, s-, c-quarks as well as some lightest hadrons containing b-quarks are calculated on the basis of a slightly modified bag model. The center-of-mass motion corrections are incorporated using a wavepacket projection with Gaussian parametrization of the distribution amplitude. We use running coupling constant and also allow the effective quark mass to be scale-dependent. The impact of these modifications on the hadron mass spectrum is investigated. A comparison of the predicted mass values with the experimental data demonstrates that the modified bag model is sufficiently flexible to provide a satisfactory description of light and heavy hadrons (mesons and baryons) in a single consistent framework.Comment: 27 pages, 11 table

Experimental Constraints on the Neutrino Oscillations and a Simple Model of Three Flavour Mixing

A simple model of the neutrino mixing is considered, which contains only one right-handed neutrino field, coupled via the mass term to the three usual left-handed fields. This is a simplest model that allows for three-flavour neutrino oscillations. The existing experimental limits on the neutrino oscillations are used to obtain constraints on the two free mixing parameters of the model. A specific sum rule relating the oscillation probabilities of different flavours is derived.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures in post script, Latex, IFT 2/9

Accelerator and Reactor Neutrino Oscillation Experiments in a Simple Three-Generation Framework

We present a new approach to the analysis of neutrino oscillation experiments, in the one mass-scale limit of the three-generation scheme. In this framework we reanalyze and recombine the most constraining accelerator and reactor data, in order to draw precise bounds in the new parameter space. We consider our graphical representations as particularly suited to show the interplay among the different oscillation channels. Within the same framework, the discovery potential of future short and long baseline experiments is also investigated, in the light of both the recent signal from the LSND experiment and the atmospheric neutrino anomaly.Comment: uuencoded compressed tar file. Figures (13) available by ftp to ftp://eku.sns.ias.edu/pub/lisi/ (192.16.204.30). Submitted to Physical Review

Users obligation to report tax schemes versus the freedom from self-incrimination in the context of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights J.B. v. Switzerland

Przedmiot badań: Orzeczenie J.B. przeciwko Szwajcarii wydane przez ETPCz jest jednym z wyznaczników standardu ochrony wolności od samooskarżenia. Zgodnie z treścią tego orzeczenia, jednostka powinna być chroniona przed przymusem składania dokumentów, które dostarczyłyby informacji mogących stanowić dowód przeciwko niej. Przepisy MDR (Mandatory Disclosure Rules – raportowanie schematów podatkowych), zawarte w rozdziale 11a Ordynacji podatkowej, nakładają na korzystających obowiązek raportowania do Szefa Krajowej Informacji Skarbowej każdej działalności prawnej mającej skutki w prawie podatkowym. Cel badawczy: Celem niniejszego artykułu jest przeprowadzenie analizy prawno-porównawczej regulacji MDR z wyrokiem w sprawie J.B. przeciwko Szwajcarii i wykazanie możliwych analogii z regulacją MDR, które mogą pomóc rozpoznać możliwe naruszenia zakazu zmuszania do samooskarżania, wywodzonego z art. 6 Europejskiej Konwencji Praw Człowieka. Celem artykułu jest także sprawdzenie, na ile MDR stanowi obowiązek autodonosu. Metoda badawcza: W artykule zastosowano komparatystyczną analizę orzeczeń Europejskiego Trybunału Praw Człowieka i Trybunału Sprawiedliwości Unii Europejskiej. Analiza została też wsparta analizą dogmatyczno-prawną obowiązku raportowania schematów podatkowych. Wykorzystano głównie orzeczenie ETPCz J.B. przeciwko Szwajcarii w zakresie prawa do zachowania milczenia. Porównano też standard ochrony wolności od samooskarżania odtworzony na przykładzie J.B. z normami MDR. Wyniki: Przepisy MDR mogą stanowić ciche zbieranie dowodów na potrzeby innych postępowań i są niezgodne z prawem do milczenia, szczególnie w przypadku osób fizycznych, a postępowanie podatkowe może mieć charakter karny. Nie ma znaczenia formalne rozdzielenie postępowań. W tym zakresie stanowisko ETPCz podziela też TSUE.Background: The presented study concerns the J.B v. Switzerland ruling by the ECtHR as one of the benchmarks for the standard protecting freedom from self-incrimination. According to the ruling, an individual should be protected from being compelled to submit documents that would provide information that could constitute evidence against them. The MDR (Mandatory Disclosure Rules) contained in chapter 11a of the Polish Tax Ordinance impose an obligation on users (relevant tax payers) to report to the Head of the National Tax Information any legal activity that has tax law consequences. Research purpose: The purpose of this article is to conduct a comparative legal analysis of the MDR regulation with the judgment in J.B. v. Switzerland and to show possible analogies with the MDR regulation that may help to identify possible violations of the freedom against self-incrimination derived from Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The article also aims to examine to what extent the MDR constitutes a duty of self-denunciation. Methods: The article uses a comparative analysis of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union. The analysis is also supported by the dogmatic-legal analysis of the obligation to report tax schemes. The main principle of the ECHR, J.B. v. Switzerland, concerning the right to remain silent was used. The standard of protecting freedom from self-incrimination reproduced in the example of J.B. was also compared with MDR standards. Conclusions: The MDR laws may constitute tacit collection of evidence for other proceedings and are inconsistent with the right to remain silent, especially in the case of individuals, when tax proceedings may be criminal in nature. Moreover, the formal separation of proceedings is irrelevant. In this respect, the view of the ECtHR is also shared by the CJEU

Publishing information on tax strategies as modern pillorying – selected issues

Przedmiot badań: Przedmiotem analizy będą przepisy o obowiązkowym ujawnianiu informacji o stosowanej strategii podatkowej, zawarte w art. 27C ustawy o podatku dochodowym od osób prawnych. Regulacja ta jest o tyle ciekawa, że teoretycznie przedstawia zmianę sposobu myślenia ustawodawcy o uszczelnianiu systemu podatkowego. Adresatem publikowanych informacji ma być zatem ogół społeczeństwa, nie zaś sama administracja skarbowa. W artykule tym podjęta zostanie próba sygnalizacji kilku niebezpiecznych tendencji ustawodawcy w formułowaniu nowych obowiązków sprawozdawczych. Cel badawczy: Celem niniejszego artykułu jest dokonanie analizy przepisów o obowiązkowym publikowaniu informacji o realizowanej strategii podatkowej pod kątem konstytucyjnych zasad obowiązujących przy tworzeniu prawa podatkowego. Uzyskana w ten sposób ocena obowiązkowego publikowania strategii podatkowych posłuży także do wyciągnięcia wstępnych wniosków, dotyczących ewentualnych korekt albo dróg rozwoju polskiej instytucji informowania o strategiach podatkowych. Proponowane zmiany mogą przybliżyć polską regulację do realizacji celów społecznej kontroli, akcentowanej w uzasadnieniu do ustawy wprowadzającej. Całość zostanie uzupełniona analizą polskich regulacji, dotyczących obowiązkowego ujawniania informacji o realizowanej strategii podatkowej, w kontekście regulacji funkcjonujących w innych państwach. Metoda badawcza: W artykule zastosowano analizę dogmatyczno-prawną oraz komparatystyczną analizę polskiej regulacji z regulacjami australijskimi i brytyjskimi. Dokonano też komparatystycznej analizy orzecznictwa Trybunału Konstytucyjnego. Analiza zawierać będzie także weryfikację motywów, jakie ustawodawca zawarł w uzasadnieniu do ustawy wprowadzającej nowy obowiązek.1 Wyniki: Wydaje się, że choć ustawodawca założył ambitne cele przyświecające nowej regulacji, to narusza on szereg zasad konstytucyjnych, w tym zasadę proporcjonalności, zakaz retroaktywności prawa i zasadę poprawnej legislacji. Jest to tym bardziej niepokojące, że ustawodawca znał regulacje wprowadzone w innych państwach, które lepiej realizują zakładane cele.Background: The subjects of analysis are the provisions on mandatory publication of information on the applied tax strategy within Article 27C of the Corporate Income Tax Act. This regulation is interesting in that it theoretically represents a change in the way the legislator thinks about sealing the tax system. Therefore, the addressee of the published information is to be the whole of society, not the tax administration itself. In this article, an attempt will be made to signal several dangerous tendencies of the legislator in the formulation of new reporting obligations. Research purpose: The purpose of this article is to analyse the provisions on mandatory publication of information on implemented tax strategy in terms of constitutional principles applicable to the creation of tax law. The evaluation of the obligatory publication of tax strategies obtained in this way will also serve to draw preliminary conclusions on possible corrections, or ways of developing Polish institutions of information on tax strategies. The proposed changes may bring Polish regulation closer to implementing the objectives of social control, emphasised in the explanatory memorandum to the Introductory Act. The whole project will be complemented with an analysis of Polish regulations on obligatory disclosure of information on implemented tax strategy in the context of regulations functioning in other countries. Methods: The article uses a dogmatic and legal analysis and a comparative analysis of Polish laws with Australian and British laws. A comparative analysis of the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal was also carried out. The analysis will also include a verification of motives, which the legislator included in the justification of the act introducing the new obligation. Conclusions: It appears that although the legislator set ambitious goals for the new regulation, this violates a number of constitutional principles, including the principle of proportionality, the prohibition of legal retroactivity, and the principle of correct legislation. This is all the more worrying because the legislator was aware of the regulations introduced in other states, which achieve the assumed objectives better