TALLINN — Estonia’s Ministry of Finance is looking to expand its powers to fight tax fraud, a problem exacerbated by the economic crisis in the developing country.

The draft was sent out to the ministries for review on March 12 before it is sent to parliament for a vote. The ministry is seeking to do away with required pre-notification for Estonian Tax and Customs Board on-site inspections and increase powers of asset freezing for those who are [private_supervisor]delinquent with their taxes, but is balancing these with concessions on tax assessment disputes, and interest payments on back taxes. The draft will also limit the tax debt payment period to 12 months.

If the tax assessment will be disputed, then according to the new draft the Estonian Tax and Customs Board will have the right to initiate the suspension of tax assessment if the decision is in accordance with public interests, which means if the court practice was controversial or unclear. Today tax authority can do so only in case of challenge procedures, but not in case of court procedures.

“Once the tax assessment has been disputed, then the taxpayer is not obligated to pay the tax, and the amount which is already payed will be returned,” Annika Vilu, press spokeswoman of the Ministry of Finance told Baltic Reports.

The draft also limits interest rates to the tax assessment amount, which means that once the interest rate reaches the amount of the tax debt, then new interest will not be added.

However, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board no longer have to notify of their visit to inspect the construction sites, taxi stops, open air event sites, etc. Prompt visits should help to evaluate the situation more objectively than before, as it will not give a chance to prepare for the visit.

The proposal would also ban people from opening new bank accounts if another is frozen due to tax debts. One of the measures would obligate the banks to check the person’s tax background before allowing to open the account.

The Estonian Tax and Customs Board declined to comment on the draft until it becomes law. The reform was initiated by the Reform Party — the other parties have not given their positions on it yet. The other ministries, several controlled by the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica. Although it is a coalition partner with Reform, the two parties have not seen eye-to-eye on other measures such as mortgage relief and electricity market liberalization. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]delinquent with their taxes, but is balancing these with concessions on tax assessment disputes, and interest payments on back taxes. The draft will also limit the tax debt payment period to 12 months.

If the tax assessment will be disputed, then according to the new draft the Estonian Tax and Customs Board will have the right to initiate the suspension of tax assessment if the decision is in accordance with public interests, which means if the court practice was controversial or unclear. Today tax authority can do so only in case of challenge procedures, but not in case of court procedures.

“Once the tax assessment has been disputed, then the taxpayer is not obligated to pay the tax, and the amount which is already payed will be returned,” Annika Vilu, press spokeswoman of the Ministry of Finance told Baltic Reports.

The draft also limits interest rates to the tax assessment amount, which means that once the interest rate reaches the amount of the tax debt, then new interest will not be added.

However, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board no longer have to notify of their visit to inspect the construction sites, taxi stops, open air event sites, etc. Prompt visits should help to evaluate the situation more objectively than before, as it will not give a chance to prepare for the visit.

The proposal would also ban people from opening new bank accounts if another is frozen due to tax debts. One of the measures would obligate the banks to check the person’s tax background before allowing to open the account.

The Estonian Tax and Customs Board declined to comment on the draft until it becomes law. The reform was initiated by the Reform Party — the other parties have not given their positions on it yet. The other ministries, several controlled by the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica. Although it is a coalition partner with Reform, the two parties have not seen eye-to-eye on other measures such as mortgage relief and electricity market liberalization. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]delinquent with their taxes, but is balancing these with concessions on tax assessment disputes, and interest payments on back taxes. The draft will also limit the tax debt payment period to 12 months.

If the tax assessment will be disputed, then according to the new draft the Estonian Tax and Customs Board will have the right to initiate the suspension of tax assessment if the decision is in accordance with public interests, which means if the court practice was controversial or unclear. Today tax authority can do so only in case of challenge procedures, but not in case of court procedures.

“Once the tax assessment has been disputed, then the taxpayer is not obligated to pay the tax, and the amount which is already payed will be returned,” Annika Vilu, press spokeswoman of the Ministry of Finance told Baltic Reports.

The draft also limits interest rates to the tax assessment amount, which means that once the interest rate reaches the amount of the tax debt, then new interest will not be added.

However, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board no longer have to notify of their visit to inspect the construction sites, taxi stops, open air event sites, etc. Prompt visits should help to evaluate the situation more objectively than before, as it will not give a chance to prepare for the visit.

The proposal would also ban people from opening new bank accounts if another is frozen due to tax debts. One of the measures would obligate the banks to check the person’s tax background before allowing to open the account.

The Estonian Tax and Customs Board declined to comment on the draft until it becomes law. The reform was initiated by the Reform Party — the other parties have not given their positions on it yet. The other ministries, several controlled by the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica. Although it is a coalition partner with Reform, the two parties have not seen eye-to-eye on other measures such as mortgage relief and electricity market liberalization. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]delinquent with their taxes, but is balancing these with concessions on tax assessment disputes, and interest payments on back taxes. The draft will also limit the tax debt payment period to 12 months.

If the tax assessment will be disputed, then according to the new draft the Estonian Tax and Customs Board will have the right to initiate the suspension of tax assessment if the decision is in accordance with public interests, which means if the court practice was controversial or unclear. Today tax authority can do so only in case of challenge procedures, but not in case of court procedures.

“Once the tax assessment has been disputed, then the taxpayer is not obligated to pay the tax, and the amount which is already payed will be returned,” Annika Vilu, press spokeswoman of the Ministry of Finance told Baltic Reports.

The draft also limits interest rates to the tax assessment amount, which means that once the interest rate reaches the amount of the tax debt, then new interest will not be added.

However, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board no longer have to notify of their visit to inspect the construction sites, taxi stops, open air event sites, etc. Prompt visits should help to evaluate the situation more objectively than before, as it will not give a chance to prepare for the visit.

The proposal would also ban people from opening new bank accounts if another is frozen due to tax debts. One of the measures would obligate the banks to check the person’s tax background before allowing to open the account.

The Estonian Tax and Customs Board declined to comment on the draft until it becomes law. The reform was initiated by the Reform Party — the other parties have not given their positions on it yet. The other ministries, several controlled by the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica. Although it is a coalition partner with Reform, the two parties have not seen eye-to-eye on other measures such as mortgage relief and electricity market liberalization. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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