Forum on taxpayer’s human rights in Southern California

Is paying taxes an obligation? Paying taxes is considered a right in a democratic nation. In history, there were many incidents where protests against unjust tax laws led to revolutions. For example, the Boston Tea Party triggered the American Revolutionary War. Additionally, five hundred years ago, theologian Martin Luther strongly criticized the Roman Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences and pointed out that the unjustified collection of money was a lie and an insult to God. His challenging the Pope and upholding the truth set an excellent example for those who came after him. This year, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Luther’s Reformation, a series of forums on "tax reform" was launched by the Association of World Citizens, NGO in consultative status with ECOSOC and associated with the UN DPI, and other organizations to explore tax-related human rights issues. These forums were held at 16 locations in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley of the United States as well as in Taiwan. At one of such forums in Taiwan, Dr. Suitbert Oberreiter from Austria was invited to talk about Martin Luther's profound influence on Europe. In medieval Europe, the Pope had tremendous power, and since people feared punishment for their sins, the sale of indulgences was a common practice. Not until Luther translated the Bible from Latin into German did the great deceit get revealed. What was said by the Pope couldn’t be found in the Bible. With the power of the printing press at the time, the public started to gain access to the truth, and many reforms began.

The first forum of the series on tax reform was held in Walnut City, Los Angeles County on October 30th, 2017. It was co-organized by the Association of World Citizens, DLEE CPA, Accounting Service for Sale, Inc., Snow Shepherd LLC, Parents for Education, etc. An attorney, a CPA, a business owner, and other professionals were invited to discuss the tax environments in the United States and in Taiwan. In particular, they took a close look at the Tai Ji Men tax case, which reflects many of Taiwan’s taxation problems, including the tax authorities’ violations of due process, disregard for evidence, forceful and unlawful taxation, and other human rights abuses.

Ann Chen, a dual licensed attorney in both the United States and Taiwan, used the Tai Ji Men tax case, which is a landmark case of human rights violations in Taiwan, to illustrate the so-called “never-ending tax bill” issue in Taiwan: “In the Tai Ji Men tax case, unlawful tax officials used false facts and evidence to issue unjustified tax bills to the taxpayers for over 20 years. Even when Tai Ji Men has won its case in administrative courts, the case was sent back to the Taxation Bureau for it to make another tax disposition. This only shows that the administrative remedy mechanism in Taiwan has failed, leading to continuous issuance of incorrect tax bills, harming the citizens of Taiwan. In contrast, in the United States although a lot of people don’t like the IRS, they do not fear the IRS because there are sound and effective administrative remedies.” Chen further compared the amount of tax law training a judge receives before entering the tax court between the two countries: “Judges in Taiwan have not received sufficient professional tax law training; therefore, they tend to favor the Taxation Bureau due to their lack of expertise in tax laws. On the other hand, all the judges in the United States Tax Court must obtain a master's degree in tax laws or have had extensive experiences in dealing with tax cases before serving in the court. These judges are competent to make the right judgments in tax disputes. A typical tax case usually ends in one to two years, reducing the suffering of taxpayers during trials."

A CPA in California, Duncan Lee, stated, “After three instances of trials, Tai Ji Men was found not guilty of tax evasion or other charges; therefore, the issuance of untrue tax bills based on the prosecutor's false indictment should have been withdrawn long ago. It’s unbelievable that a case such as this, which has been ruled not guilty of tax evasion by the court, has been ongoing for over 20 years! It’s outrageous that Taiwan’s Taxation Bureau would disregard the court’s decision and ignore true evidence!” Eric Shen, an engineer, used scientific reasoning to analyze the case and provided shocking statistics: “In Taiwan, when filing a lawsuit about an incorrect tax bill in an administrative court, the odds of winning for a taxpayer is less than 6% because the judges favor the tax authorities. Even if a judge’s ruling is for a taxpayer, it is not final. Instead, the case will be sent back to the Taxation Bureau for it to make another tax disposition. After adjustments are made by the Taxation Bureau, another tax bill with a different amount will be issued, and the taxpayer needs to seek another round of administrative remedy. In the Tai Ji Men tax case, since the Taxation Bureau will not cancel its incorrect tax bills, this means an ongoing nightmare for the taxpayers. The taxpayers have wasted a lot of time, efforts, and money in dealing with unjustified tax bills while the case has not been concluded and justice has not been served. The Taiwanese government has become the main culprit that violates its people's dignity and property!”

Pamela Chen, a small business owner and mother, pointed out, “In the US, children in the third grade have already begun to learn the purpose of tax. History about the Boston Tea Party, the trigger of the American Revolution, can be found in children’s literature. This allows our children to learn the correct concept about paying taxes. In Taiwan, people are generally taught to think that paying taxes is an obligation. However, people are not paying attention to the concept of the rule of law, such as respect for due process and the rule of evidence. In fact, they lack the concept of taxpayer’s rights!” During her recent trip to Eastern Europe, she witnessed relics that tell heart-wrenching stories of the innocent victims in the concentration camps in Poland. Even though there were trial courts at the time, the Nazis got to make the final decision. This reminded her of Taiwan’s current tax environment and the words of a law professor in Taiwan, Tzu-Lung Chen. Professor Chen once said, "Taiwan's tax laws and practices should get rid of the ‘elements of the Nazis.’"

Jenchen Shih, an operations manager at a multinational company, pointed out that the tax environment of a country is an important factor being evaluated when a company makes decisions about overseas investments. He urged people to be aware of their rights and step forward to fight against unlawful officials of the Taxation Bureau. He also called for the promotion of taxpayer’s human rights reform in Taiwan. He said, “A healthy taxation system leads to stable economy. Only then will large companies dare to invest in Taiwan. Five hundred years ago, the Roman Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences was unjustified collection of money in the name of pardoning people’s sins. Today, the way the Taiwanese tax authorities use unlawful tax bills to force payments from the citizens is even more outrageous!”

Martin Luther stood up against injustice five centuries ago, and his influence carries into the present. The concept that human dignity cannot be violated has been practiced in democratic nations where the rule of law prevails. In contrast, the lack of condemnation for government officials who abuse their power has led to the deformed democracy in Taiwan. People need to be aware of their rights and stand up to obliterate injustice, restore justice, and condemn governmental violence. Only then can the nation move towards true democracy and create a better world for generations to come.