The Examination of Tax Audit in the Context of the Relationship Between the Tax Administration and Taxpayers: The Example of Belgium

Abstract

Tax can be defined as the unrequited and legal economic values which the state collects from the natural and legal persons, on the basis of the sovereign right of the state, with an aim to meet the public expenditures. According to the principle of statement, which forms the basis of modern tax systems, the taxpayers declare their taxable incomes themselves. But, it is observed that some taxpayers may tend not to be honest in the declaration of their income due to the fact that the taxes are unrequited. At this point, it is necessary to supervise the taxpayers’ declarations so that the tax collection can be done in full and timely manner. Tax audit involves the activities regularly carried out by the state in order to identify whether the taxpayers fully perform their tax duties. In this context, in our study, general information about the tax audit practices in Belgium is discussed and the subject was examined within the framework of the relationship between the management and taxpayer. The aim of the study is to provide information about the tax inspection practices by examining the tax inspection institution examined in our country with the Belgian legislation and the Supreme Court Decisions.