Il dovere fiscale e lo scambio di informazioni

The fiscal duty also rests with the State which is called, on the one hand, to determine the extent and the nature of the tax due by taxpayer on the basis of the principles of fairness, equality, solidarity and social justice, and on the other hand, to ensure that the tax obligation is implemented in a fair and impartial way through the correct application of the tax and the prevention and repression of evasive phenomena. From a substantive point of view, the State is required to identify tax solutions — imposed by new economy — different from traditional ones that are objective and not yet achieved and that can be pursued only with a shared approach of supranational legal systems. In procedural law, however, the fiscal duty is ensured by the exercise of tax and enforceable taxing powers and by compliance with the duties envisaged to guarantee the impartial application of the law. The functions of the State, effectively exercised at national level, have been hampered by the difficulty in obtaining from other jurisdictions the essential information for the assessment of taxes due from companies with international activities and from subjects with financial resources placed abroad. The situation has changed since Italy introduced the automatic exchange of information with other States that allows automatic and periodic sharing data concerning taxpayers. The purpose of the automatic exchange discourages violations of tax obligations and promotes recourse to tax compliance with a weakening of control activities. However, the automatic exchange of information sacrifices the interests of the taxpayer who, in the absence of guarantees at a supranational level, can defend themselves only at home. The defense can be guaranteed only by the preventive fair hearing that must be recognized by the national legal system as an indispensable tool of the taxpayer. Only in this way can the fiscal duty of the State be considered fulfilled.