EXTENSIVENESS OF ENCROACHMENT AS AN OBSTACLE TO TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS IN TAX ADMINISTRATION

The electronization of public administration and the incorporation of technological progress is a goal that the Czech Republic tends to pursue across the political sphere and the public. Tax administration should not be an exception in this area, yet the full electronification of processes has not yet been achieved. Is the reason for this development a restrained approach by the legislator or a lack of flexibility by the tax administrator who fails to adapt to technological progress? This is what these paper aims to answer. The authors examine several tools reflecting technological progress that have been implemented by the legislator in the legislative framework or by the tax administrator through its innovative approach in practice. These tools were chosen in relation to the course of the tax proceedings – the initiation of the proceedings through the tax claim, the communication between the tax administrator and the taxpayer during the proceedings, and last but not least, the evidentiary situation decisive for the tax assessment. By analysing the legal framework and, in particular, the current available case law, the authors conclude that while the legislator generally tends to electronicise the processes, their practical impact on streamlining and simplifying the processes is, however, questionable and, as a result, favours mainly tax subjects in practice.