Which countries oblige the tax authority to disclose its method of estimation?
Seven European legal orders oblige the tax authority to disclose the method of its estimate: France, Estonia, Finland, Belgium, Poland, Romania and Spain. In those countries the authority must communicate not only the result but also how it arrived at it. In the remaining ones among the thirty-two legal orders we have recorded, that duty does not exist or exists only in a limited form.
Why the question is decisive
Whoever knows the method can recalculate it. Whoever does not know it argues about a figure whose origin is unknown to them. The difference changes the starting position of a tax audit completely: in the seven countries a counter-calculation starts from a calculation already disclosed — the argument is about a known method, not about an unknown figure.
The seven countries and their sources
| Country | Source | What is required |
|---|---|---|
| France | Livre des procédures fiscales, Art. L. 76 | The bases of taxation and the methods by which they were determined must be communicated at least thirty days before collection. |
| Estonia | Maksukorralduse seadus, § 94 Abs. 2 | The methods of estimation and the evidence used must be stated in the tax assessment. |
| Finland | Laki verotusmenettelystä, 27 § | The comparison data must be shown to the taxpayer. Where that is not possible, the reason must be given. |
| Belgium | Code des impôts sur les revenus 1992, Art. 346 | The notice of adjustment must state all the elements on which it is based. |
| Poland | Ordynacja podatkowa, Art. 23 § 5 | The choice of the method of estimation must be reasoned. |
| Romania | Cod de procedură fiscală, Art. 106 Abs. 3 | The assessment act must state the factual grounds, the legal basis and the criteria of the estimate. |
| Spain | Ley 58/2003 General Tributaria, Art. 158 Abs. 1 | The audit must be accompanied by an informe razonado on the grounds, the state of the accounts, the justification of the means chosen and the calculations performed. |
One country sits in between
Slovakia requires, under § 49 Abs. 1 of the Daňový poriadok, a list of the aids used in the record — that is, the sources the estimate was drawn from, but not the calculation itself.
And where the duty is expressly absent
Two examples from the same survey: Ireland lets an estimate made to the best of his or her information and judgment suffice under Section 922 Abs. 2 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 — with no catalogue and no disclosure. Cyprus bases the assessment under Law 4/1978 on the judgment of the Director.
What we contribute
We have recorded the preconditions for estimation in thirty-two European legal orders — for each country the legal term in the national language, the requirement and the source. Where the method must be disclosed, we recalculate it. Where it need not be, we place our own calculation beside it, fully open.
The legal provisions reproduced here are for information and do not replace legal advice. For application in an individual case the legal position at the time of the proceedings must be examined by a lawyer admitted in the country and field concerned.