The Tax Man's bunglings are getting worse, a new NIK report reveals

According to a report by the Supreme Board of Inspection (NIK), the functioning of the country’s tax offices has worsened over the last few years. The NIK inspected 36 tax offices and 16 fiscal chambers in 2001 and 2002 and the findings of the report show that the number of decisions that are questioned or dismissed has increased while the time of appeal procedures has lengthened. The NIK's findings are confirmed by the statistics issuing from the Finance Ministry, which show that in 2002 tax offices considered 48.3% of the taxpayers' appeals against the offices' decisions to be justified, while the Supreme Administrative Court dismissed 90.2% of the tax offices decisions taken to it by taxpayers. Indeed, the erroneous decisions have cost the budget zł.389 million in 2002 alone. According to the NIK, the main reason for the tax offices’ failures is the country’s complicated and unstable tax law. (Parkiet, p. 9) E.B.