Some Recent Tax Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights

The imposition and collection of taxes continue to raise a miscellany of different issues under the European Convention on Human Rights. This short article discusses some recent cases that raise: freedom of religion and the right to privacy (Arts. 9 and 8 of the Convention, respectively), the right to the enjoyment of possessions (Art. 1 of the First Protocol of the Convention), freedom of speech and the defamation of tax officials (Art. 10) and the right to a fair trial (Art. 6). They illustrate how the Convention may impact on tax and its collection in ways one might not have anticipated.