Legislative initiative of Human Rights Center – prisoners should not be fined for unpaid income taxes

Human Rights Center submitted legislative proposal to the Parliament of Georgia on suspending allocation of fines for unpaid income taxes on prisoners.

The legislative proposal of Human Rights Center was registered on July 15 in the Parliament. The Parliamentary fraction “National Forum” supported the initiative and registered it as a legislative proposal in the Parliament. The authors of the bill are: Human Rights Center and MP Ani Mirotadze from the Parliamentary fraction “National Forum”. 

The authors of the initiative believe that during imprisonment terms prisoners shall not be fined for unpaid income taxes. 

The proposed legislative amendments aim to promote rehabilitation and re-socialization of the prisoners and defense their rights. With those changes in the Tax Code, the state will not encourage prisoners to commit a new crime and will give him/her opportunity of rehabilitation. 

Prisoners of different penitentiary establishments, who had businesses and were registered as tax payers, applied to Human Rights Center for help. In the moment of detention some of them had debts to the state. During the imprisonment term, despite the fact that prisoner cannot earn money, the fines are allocated that is unfair and infringe the rights of prisoners. 

Prisoners clarified that their fines amounted to several thousands GEL that is increasing daily and has reached cosmic numbers. For instance, it is impossible to imagine how much money they will have to pay after being freed from the potential establishment after 5-10 years imprisonment. In this case, prisoners explain that the only way to resolve this problem is to commit a new crime or sell the house and stay homeless. 

Human Rights Center appealed to the Revenue Service with regard to the case of G.E. and requested to stop fining him for unpaid income taxes during imprisonment. The Revenue Service clarified that according to the Article 60, Paragraph 4 of the Tax Code of Georgia the fine is imposed for each delayed day starting from the second day of the missed deadline. It is forbidden to make any personal exceptions and free anybody from paying the fines .

The authors of the initiative think that the government should not encourage prisoners to commit a new crime or get complete failure. The government has a positive obligation to promote rehabilitation and re-socialization of prisoners. Besides, one of the purposes of imprisonment is to prevent future crimes and rectify former offenders. 

The Parliament of Georgia has to realize that imposing fines on a person during is violation of basic rights, because a prisoner cannot perform any business and have income. 

Human Rights center believes the Parliament of Georgia has to introduce some amendments to the Tax Code of Georgia in order to stop charging prisoners with income taxes during imprisonment. 

Human Rights Center