Protection of the Legitimate Rights and Interests of a Bona Fide Taxpayer

The article examines the legal issues related to the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of a conscientious taxpayer in the Russian Federation. The author analyzes the content of the concept of conscientiousness in tax relations, its regulatory consolidation, and judicial interpretation. The guarantees of the taxpayer’s rights established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation are examined, including the presumption of innocence, the presumption of conscientiousness, the right to appeal against the acts of tax authorities, and the procedure for refunding excessively collected amounts. Special attention is paid to Article 54.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and the practice of its application, as well as to the distinction between lawful tax optimization and abuse of rights. The authors conclude that the current legislation contains a sufficient set of legal means of protection, but their effectiveness is reduced due to the ambiguity of a number of concepts and the shifting of the burden of proof in law enforcement practice. Proposals are formulated to improve the legislation and to strengthen the procedural guarantees for the taxpayer.