Legal control of soft tax investigations

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K12629
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 05020:Public law-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: TANAKA Masakuni 九州大学, 法学研究院, 准教授 (50782950)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 純粋な任意調査 / 質問検査権 / 行政調査 / 法律の留保 / 個人情報保護 / プライバシー権

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Tax law scholars have put the perspective of constraining property rights on the discussion topic. However, it should be recognized again that the activity of obtaining and collecting tax information is an activity that can be a constraint on an individual's right to privacy and control of his or her own information. There is a growing concern that the state power may grasp information about individuals due to the use of communication information technology and big data. It goes without saying that tax investigations involving the use of force are not acceptable, but given the technology of today's society, it is also necessary to be aware of the human rights restrictions caused by the collection of information on SNS and the Internet by the state power. In order to properly control the activities of such tax authorities, it is necessary to establish legal control over soft tax investigations in the framework of "administrative investigations".

Free Research Field

租税法

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

税務官庁が、国民の財産・収支の状態を調査する権限には質問検査権という法的権限があり、国民の側では当該権限による質問や帳簿の提出の求めなどに応じなければ罰則がある。従来から、この質問検査権についての研究は豊富であったが、現在の情報処理技術を前提にすると、対象者に接触しない形での個人情報の収集は容易である。そういった形での税務官庁による調査には特段規制の議論が乏しかったが、プライバシー権の保障の観点からは、現在の状況は危惧される。そこで、本研究では、明示的な法的な権限に基づかない税務官庁による調査にどのようなコントロールが可能かを研究した。