Summary

This article provides an overview of the main characteristics of taxes as obligations in public law, the main components of tax law, the purpose and implications of taxes and the bases for classification of taxes in the Estonian legal system. Further, the author analyses the differences of taxes from other obligations in public law. Since tax relations are governed by separate legislation and a special procedure for collection of taxes exists, it is important to distinguish taxes from other obligations. The author concludes that the existing Estonian tax legislation does not fully conform with the current legal definition of taxes: obligations which in fact cannot be regarded as taxes function as taxes and vice versa. Therefore, several special charges and service fees have become a source of hidden taxation.