MORAL AND ETHICAL ASPECTS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TAXPAYERS AND CONTROLLING AUTHORITIES: EXPERIENCE OF THE EU COUNTRIES

Abstract

Introduction. Ukraine has chosen integration into the European Union as a strategic direction of development and is committed to harmonizing its tax system with EU standards and best practices. Despite ongoing reforms, the Ukrainian tax system is complicated for taxpayers to understand and fulfill their tax obligations. In such circumstances, it is important to study the moral and ethical aspects of building mutually beneficial partnerships between taxpayers and regulatory authorities in the EU, which are characterized by a high level of mutual understanding, professionalism and trust, in order to implement successful European practices of such relations in Ukraine. Purpose. Assessment of the current state of moral and ethical aspects of the taxation culture in Ukraine and identification of areas for establishing partnerships between participants in the tax process in the context of studying the experience of European countries. Methods. In the course of the research, the authors used a dialectical approach as the main scientific principle of studying tax relations, the method of observation, economic analysis, statistical, comparison and generalization, deduction and induction. Results. In order to ensure a high level of tax culture and tax discipline in the EU countries, various methods are used, including the use of enhanced control and persuasion methods. It has been found that a higher level of tax culture and tax discipline is observed in those countries where the partnership model of tax relations is applied. In Ukraine, despite the efforts of the State Tax Service, the moral and ethical side of tax relations with taxpayers is not improving. The reasons for this are: constant changes in tax legislation, excessive control by tax authorities, which has only intensified in the war; low qualification level of tax inspectors due to low salaries and heavy workload, etc. Conclusion. Taking into account the experience of European countries, the priority areas for improving the level of tax culture and tax discipline in Ukraine should be, first of all, improvement of tax legislation by introducing balanced and effective amendments and additions; improvement of the quality of tax consulting; ensuring compliance of tax authorities' employees with the established ethical standards and increasing the prestige of work in the controlling bodies, including by establishing an appropriate level of remuneration; establishing partnerships with business.