About this project
Witnesses can be important for establishing the truth. Witness evidence can play not only an important, but even a dominant role in procedural law. It should be noted that knowing the testimony of witnesses - including anonymous witnesses - does not always enjoy a good reputation. For a long time, the search for the truth took place mainly in criminal law, which led to a range of criminal case law and literature concerning (the reliability of) (anonymous) witness evidence in criminal law.
In administrative procedural law - of which tax procedural law is part - this is not (yet) the case. It follows from the Supreme Court's ruling of 24 November 2017 that tax procedural law has no possibility to (have) witnesses heard anonymously. Despite this impossibility, it appears in practice that the phenomenon of the ‘anonymous witness’ can play a major role in the taking of evidence in administrative law in general, and in tax law in particular, and that the lack of rules in this regard raises questions.
In tax (procedural) law, the special - and perhaps complicating - circumstance further arises that, in a sense, there are three ‘subareas’: the levy phase, tax penalty law and tax criminal law. Each ‘subfield’ has its own framework of applicable rules. It could therefore be the case that the question of how to deal with anonymous witness evidence during the levy phase would have to be answered differently than when dealing with a tax fine, for example. A difference with regard to the legal protection offered seems undesirable. Also, differences lead to legal uncertainty.
The purpose of this study is first of all to provide insight into the currently applicable standards and requirements for the use of anonymous witness evidence in tax procedural law. This research is important because anonymous witness evidence seems to play a role - and a greater role - in practice more often. And this applies not only to tax procedural law, but also to other areas of administrative law. Think of the mystery shopper, the decoy youth or the anonymous inspection visit. Once better insight has been gained into the currently applicable standards and rules for the use of anonymous witness evidence, the use of anonymous witness evidence can be considered in the context of legal protection that a citizen can and should expect in our national legal system. It can be assessed whether the current way of using anonymous witness evidence is sufficient or whether it needs to be improved
Besides setting out the currently applicable standards and requirements in tax procedure law, the currently applicable standards and requirements in criminal procedure law will also be explained. Both tax procedural law and criminal procedural law involve a citizen-government relationship. In addition, criminal procedural law does have an extensive framework of standards where the use of anonymous witness evidence is concerned. Can tax procedural law learn something from criminal procedural law?