Officials prosecuted for violating tax secrecy Socrates – Daily News – Lisbon

Of the 29 open disciplinary proceedings against officials of the Tax Authority, 15 have been triggered this year

At this time there 29 disciplinary proceedings to employees of the tax Authority, called to justify access to tax data contributors. Fifteen have entered already this year. Some of these cases involve tax information consultation of former Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who are not linked directly to Operation Marquis, knew DN / Mad Money.

“Some cases have reached us in the year past, others are already this year, “he told DN / Mad Money the president of the Tax Workers Union. Paul Ralha recognizes that the number of disciplinary cases has not increased, but they arrive to the union relate generally to tax data query “media people” in particular “linked to the financial sector, politicians, businessmen.” The VIP list may have been formally terminated, but continues to observe a “differential treatment for ordinary citizens and the media citizen. And it is for this that we want to draw attention.”

A reading the Ministry of Finance refused, stating that “none of the proceedings or investigations instituted by consultations with tax data was triggered by the” VIP list “.

the controversy surrounding the VIP list burst in early 2015, but the process began swell – is rather closer to the date on which, according to concluded the Finance Inspection General (IGF), which was called to investigate, it would the first test steps of a computer system that generated an alert when the tax situation of four people (Cavaco Silva Passos Coelho, Paulo Portas and Paul Nuncio) was accessed. This system, the IGF dubbed “alarms” will have torn the September 29, 2014.

Since then, accounts Paulo Ralha, STI recorded 150 disciplinary proceedings. Of these, 121 have now been resolved, with 10% of filings (for being substantiated) and 90% to give rise to reprimand sanctions written, suspended for six months.

It also follows the existence of such 29 processes that are to be completed, and 15 have been admitted this year. In response to the DN / Mad Money, the Ministry of Finance confirms that “no employees to be notified in the disciplinary proceedings under way” but stressed that “no disciplinary proceedings or investigation brought by consultations with personal / tax data was to base any procedure called VIP list. “

Reasons to justify

About the requirements that lead to an official is called, official source of Finance says that “where it is aware that there may have been unlawful disclosure of personal information subject to tax secrecy, open an investigation to ascertain any responsibilities, and this practice is not always related to any previously completed list of taxpayers.” It also notes that the measures envisaged in the action plan to strengthen the security of information and data protection people that was designed in the IGF report the sequence has been completed and the observed periods.

Paul Ralha says for its part, the maintenance of processes has generated a climate of “fear” with a class of employees whose “curiosity is part of day-to-day.” And gives the example of a worker who always had excellent and whose job classification was to find discrepancies between declared income and external signs of wealth from taxpayers. “He did this for five years without problems. At the end of last year was called to be justified because it faced a taxpayer with media projection,” he said.