Fundamental rights in EU tax law

Abstract

In this chapter, Katerina Perrou explores taxpayer rights arising from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Although the Charter primarily addresses the bodies and institutions of the EU itself, which does not impose taxes or related burdens on taxpayers, the Charter crucially also applies to Member States when they ‘implement Union law’. As the Court of Justice has interpreted this phrase in an ever expanding manner, and as more and more secondary law affects domestic taxation, the latter comes increasingly within the scope of the Charter rights, such as the right to privacy, the right to data protection, the right to an effective legal remedy and the right to a fair trial, to name only a few that the Court has already ruled on. The chapter devotes a significant part of its analysis to the Charter’s scope and its potential impact, before discussing the most relevant case law from recent years, including the cases WebMindLicences, Pu_kár, Sabou, Berlioz, and åkerberg Fransson. It concludes with an outlook on future research such as the continuously developing relationship between the Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.