The Taxpayer's Right To Know

The21stcentury is an era of pursuing rights. The protection of one’s rights hasalready become the strongest point of this era. The right to know, as a legal concept,firstly originated from the west. Nowadays, it has not only existed in political field,but also permeated in every domain of economic life. The taxpayers’ right to know isthe extension of the right to know in the field of revenue. Up to now, the research onthe taxpayers’ right to know in China has still been in the initial stage and theprotection system of the taxpayers’ right to know has not been set up yet. Therefore,to conduct the study of the taxpayers’ right to know cannot only be beneficial toexpanding legal theories concerning revenue, but also have great significance inprotecting the taxpayers’ rights.This thesis will probe into the taxpayers’ right to know from the following fiveparts.First,“fundamental theories concerning the taxpayers’ right to know”. In thispart, the meaning, characteristics, theoretical basis and content of the taxpayers’ rightto know are introduced. The theoretical basis of the taxpayers’ right to know isexpounded from three aspects while the content of the taxpayers’ right to know ispresented from five aspects.Second,“the analysis of the current situation in protecting the taxpayers’ right toknow in China”. This part mainly introduces the current situation of the protection ofthe taxpayers’ right to know in China, especially embodied in legislation. Althoughmuch progress has been made compared with before, obvious shortages and problemsstill exist. The protection of the taxpayers’ right to know has a long way to go.Third,“the measures for protecting the taxpayers’ right to know in foreigncountries and the significance for China to borrow from”. The specific measures forprotecting the taxpayers’ right to know used in the USA, Japan, Canada and othercountries are introduced respectively. Besides, the significance for China to borrowideas from the protection of the taxpayers’ right to know in those countries isproposed. Fourth,“the analysis of the problems existing in the protection of the taxpayers’right to know in China and the reasons”. This part lists the problems existing in theprotection of the taxpayers’ right to know in China and meanwhile analyzes whythose problems have come out.Finally,“the countermeasures and suggestions for strengthening the protectionof the taxpayers’ right to know in China”. In this part, correspondingcountermeasures and suggestions are put forward aiming at the specific problemsexisting in the protection of the taxpayers’ right to know.