Taxpayers win new appeal rights, but celebration on hold for awhile - Polish courts may be unable to handle workload of taxpayer a
The landmark new law giving courts authority over tax disputes is a major victory for taxpayers, but the lack of court preparedness to handle the new workload could delay the celebration, analysts and officials said last week.
Under the revised tax law, which took effect last week, disputes between taxpayers and their local tax office will now be heard in courts. Previously, taxpayers had to plead their case with the taxman, who played dual roles of policeman and judge of the tax world. Right of appeal existed, but then again, the court of last resort was the tax office, which more often than not sided with colleagues downstairs.
"This is a major step to bring adequate protection to taxpayers," said Pawel Szalamacha, a legal analyst with the Adam Smith Research Centre. "Before, someone who had a disagreement with his local tax office could only appeal to a higher tax office. It naturally had a tendency to uphold its junior colleagues' decisions."
In addition to bringing tax battles to a more level playing field with each side defending its position in front of a third party, over time the new law could lead to a more uniform, or at least transparent, interpretation of tax law through the judicial system, analysts said.
On the whole, the new law is a move in the right direction, Szalamacha said. But a big question still hangs over the courts. "Are the judges experienced enough to try complex tax cases?" he said.
The change will bring an additional 200,000 cases annually to the courts, according to Justice Ministry projections.
"There is already a situation where you have to wait anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for a case to get on the civil court's calendar," Szalamacha said. "Warsaw is the worst case after you file a suit, you won't get the first hearing for at least three months. It takes years before the final adjucation and that's how it is already with standard civil law cases between private parties." Adding complex, time-consuming tax disputes on top of the courts' already overburdened caseload has the potential for problems, Szalamacha said.
"There are proposals to provide for training and more judges, but I'm afraid they may come into effect too late," Szalamacha said.
But the Justice Ministry countered that it is prepared for the added responsibilities, and has budgeted for the necessary additional resources, said Wojciech Sadrakula, head of the Justice Ministry's criminal law department.
"Yes, 200,000 new cases is a big amount," Sadrakula said. "However only about 20% of them will be significant and require a lot of the courts' attention."
To handle the increased caseload, the ministry this year budgeted money to hire and train 400 new judges, Sadrakula said. There are now about 800-900 judges trained to adjudicate tax disputes, he said.
"There is not yet a lot of judges trained in tax law, but you have to remember that the process is only beginning to be implemented," Sadrakula said.
