20 proposals to strengthen legal certainty in tax matters

Today, many citizens and businesses experience the opposite. Decisions can be unclear, case processing times long, and digital overviews of tax and debt difficult to understand. The results are more errors, more appeals, more uncertainty and ultimately less trust.

Here are 20 concrete proposals that, taken together, can significantly strengthen legal certainty.

1) Clearer responsibility and a stronger legal basis

• Reinstate the Head of Legal Certainty to strengthen the focus on citizens’ rights and consistent practice.

• Provide a clear definition of gross negligence in tax legislation, so the concept is not used as a loose allegation without a precise explanation.

• The Danish Tax Agency must consistently document the legal basis and calculation grounds, so decisions are understandable and verifiable and in line with the constitutional requirement that taxation must be based on law.

2) Fairness in back-tax assessments and interest

• No interest on back-tax assessments caused by administrative errors, for example in property taxes where adjustments follow from delayed property valuations.

3) Better access to reopening cases and ensuring the correct tax

• An expanded right to extraordinary reopening when a tax assessment is based on factual errors and results in an unreasonable or improper discretionary assessment (an expansion of the current practice regarding special circumstances).

• A duty to reopen when new information is provided, where the citizen can document circumstances that lead to a more accurate tax calculation. This would reduce unnecessary appeals and ensure that the correct tax is paid.

4) Transparency in the tax portal: understandable statements and documentation

• An understandable statement of receivables and debt to the Danish Tax Agency, available in the tax portal, where each transaction can be clicked to view the underlying documentation.

• An understandable statement of debt to the Danish Debt Collection Agency, also accessible via the tax portal, with the same transparency and access to documentation.

• Documentation of interest calculations for both the Danish Tax Agency and the Danish Debt Collection Agency should be clearly available in the online tax portal.

5) Deadlines that create predictability

• A maximum deadline of 6 months for payment of cost reimbursement, with the possibility of extension in special cases.

• A maximum deadline of 3 months following a remittal, so the Danish Tax Agency must complete the reassessment before the deadline, otherwise the taxpayers calculation should be accepted.

• Shorter case processing times in both the Danish Tax Agency and the Danish Tax Appeals Agency.

• Ensure adequate staffing at the Danish Tax Agency, because legal certainty in practice requires capacity.

6) Better procedure and the right to be heard

• The right to an in-person meeting with the case officer at the Danish Tax Appeals Agency in all evidentiary cases, where explanations and documentation often require dialogue.

7) Greater proportionality in fines and sanctions

• Submitting mandatory transfer pricing documentation a few hours late should not be considered gross negligence if the delay has not hindered the Danish Tax Agency’s control. Sanctions must be proportionate to the offence.

• Introduce a monetary threshold for increases after the limitation period has expired when justified by gross negligence, so the exception does not become the rule.

8) Faster handling of double taxation and international matters

• Case handling within 3 months for citizens subject to tax in two countries, so no one risks paying tax to two countries for an extended period, with an effective tax rate that can in practice exceed 100%.

9) Respect for approved corrections and better response times

• If a preliminary income assessment has been corrected via an approved auditor, the Danish Tax Agency should not automatically change it without the citizen’s consent.

• Ensure response times in the tax portal, so citizens are not left in uncertainty.

10) Smoother reporting

• Easier access to unlocking locked fields for reporting income information, so errors and omissions can be corrected without unnecessary barriers.

Conclusion

The 20 proposals point in the same direction: greater clarity, greater transparency, reasonable deadlines, and proportionality and a practice that makes it easy for citizens to understand their situation and correct mistakes.

Legal certainty is not a luxury in the tax system. It is a prerequisite for citizens to accept the system, and for the authorities work to be carried out with trust and legitimacy.