1. **Subject of the dispute:** Challenging by an individual of tax notices-decisions regarding the additional assessment of personal income tax and military levy, as well as the imposition of a fine for failure to provide documents requested by the tax authority concerning income received from the OnlyFans platform.
2. **Court’s arguments:**
– The Supreme Court emphasized that international tax information is a legitimate source of data; however, the mere fact of its receipt does not relieve the tax authority of the burden to prove that these funds constitute specifically taxable income of a particular individual.
– The Court noted that the appellate instance failed to properly verify whether the data obtained allows for the identification of the plaintiff and whether it reflects actual income rather than generalized indicators of account activity.
– Furthermore, no assessment was provided regarding the plaintiff’s arguments concerning the lack of a proper translation of foreign documents and their compliance with evidentiary requirements.
– **Legal Position:** The Court explicitly stated that it is departing from its previous position, emphasizing that the existence of international information does not constitute an automatic basis for concluding that income exists without examining other circumstances of the case.
– At the same time, the cassation instance upheld the lawfulness of applying a fine for failure to respond to a tax authority’s request, as such a taxpayer’s obligation is mandatory.
– Consequently, the Court pointed to the need for a thorough examination of evidence, as the appellate court failed to ensure the completeness of the judicial proceedings.
3. **Court decision:** The Supreme Court partially satisfied the cassation appeal, overturned the appellate court’s ruling regarding the additional tax assessments, and remanded the case for a new consideration to the appellate instance, while upholding the decision to impose the fine for failure to respond to the request.
