The tax life of Algorithms / 7. When the POTENTIAL use of tax algorithms becomes a state secret, as is the case in Germany.

Indeed, in 2017 the "Taxation Modernization Act" entered into force in Germany. In essence, it allows for taxation procedures to be fully automated, from analysis of the tax return through to issuance of an assessment notice or an audit notice, depending on the case. Selecting which tax returns to process by automation is carried out by the "Risk Management System", in other words, an algorithm.

The trouble however, is that the tax administration, which already refuses to disclose what criteria this system uses, is not even required to tell the taxpayer whether the notice he received was based on human reasoning or solely on fully automated processing. This has raised a few eyebrows among legal practitioners to say the least, including Law Professor Nadja Braun Binder
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3293577).

La vie fiscale des Algorithmes / 7. Quand l’utilisation POTENTIELLE de l’algorithme fiscal devient un secret d’Etat : le cas allemand.

Mis en place depuis 2017 dans les administrations fiscales d’Outre Rhin, le dispositif « Taxation Modernization Act » permet en substance une automatisation des procédures d’imposition, de l’analyse de la déclaration d’impôt à l’envoi, selon les cas, d’un avis d’imposition ou d’un avis de vérification. Selecting which tax returns to process by automation, is carried out by the "Risk Management System", in other words, an algorithm. Problème : l’administration, qui refuse déjà de révéler les critères utilisés par ce système, n’a aucune obligation d’indiquer au contribuable concerné si l’avis reçu est le fruit d’une réflexion humaine…ou de la seule petite bête intelligente ! A tout le moins, des juristes s’interrogent, dont la Professeure de Droit Nadja Braun Binder ( https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3293577).