Constitutional Principle of Equality and the Guarantees of the Rights of Taxpayer’s: the Practice of the Constitutional Court in Russia

Abstract

The Constitutional Principle of Equality is one of the fundamental principles of the tax law. It is widely used in the practice of the Constitutional Court in the course of considering tax cases. One can find in the decisions an interpretation of the universal character of this principle, as well as the particularities of its application to the sphere of tax relations. The principle of equality is the most important criteria for evaluating the constitutionality of tax laws. It serves also as a criteria for estimating the practical activities of the tax authorities. The author analyses the concrete tax cases which were under consideration of the Constitutional Court to show in what way the mechanism of constitutional guarantees of the rights of taxpayers is functioning.