International Legal Standards for Protecting Taxpayer Rights in The Context of Digital Tax Administration
Abstract
The rapid transition towards “Tax Administration 3.0” marks a profound paradigm shift in global revenue mobilization, characterized by the integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, and machine-to-machine data sharing. While these unprecedented technological advancements promise enhanced efficiency, drastically reduced compliance burdens, and the near-real-time mitigation of tax evasion, they simultaneously introduce severe risks to fundamental taxpayer rights. This exhaustive research report provides a granular analysis of the international legal standards governing taxpayer protections in the contemporary digital era. By synthesizing recent jurisprudential developments—including landmark rulings from the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union — the analysis delineates the highly precarious balance between expanding administrative enforcement powers and the preservation of privacy, data protection, and due process. The report rigorously examines the regulatory frictions surrounding automated decision-making and algorithmic profiling, critically scrutinizing the systemic implications of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act. Furthermore, the analysis traces the historical evolution of taxpayer charters, culminating in the contemporary international push for a “Digital Taxpayer Bill of Rights,” which strictly advocates for human-in-the-loop oversight, algorithmic explainability, and protection against digital disenfranchisement. Finally, the report highlights the critical dimension of international tax cooperation, emphasizing the distinct capacity challenges faced by jurisdictions in the Global South, the privacy implications of the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), and the socio-economic ramifications of the digital divide. Ultimately, the synthesis establishes that sustainable and equitable digital tax governance requires an architecture fundamentally anchored in human rights, absolute transparency, and algorithmic accountability.