This chapter examines how tax administrations’ compliance goals are met by providing effective and efficient services to taxpayers, increasingly through technology. This is helping increase voluntary compliance amongst taxpayers by making it easier to understand tax obligations, report taxable income and make payments.
Tax Administration 2024
Comparative Information on OECD and other Advanced and Emerging Economies
Tax Administration
Abstract
A core part of supporting taxpayer compliance is the provision of a wide range of effective and easy to use services for taxpayers - such as educational initiatives, specific guidance, appropriate prompts or calculation tools. Providing the right services, to the satisfaction of taxpayers and other stakeholders, will increase the level of participation, taxpayer trust, and confidence in the tax system as a whole. Consequently, four out of five tax administrations covered in this publication are taking a strategic approach towards taxpayer services and assistance as seen in Table 5.1.
Percentage of administrations
Source: CIAT, IOTA, IMF, OECD, International Survey on Revenue Administration, Table B.4 Selected governance practices: Plans, reports and standards; and organizational chart, https://data.rafit.org/regular.aspx?key=74180913 (accessed on 10 September 2024); and Table B.46 Gender-based analysis of taxpayer satisfaction, and service and assistance strategy, https://data.rafit.org/regular.aspx?key=74180919 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
Also, as illustrated in Table 5.1, around 85% of tax administrations have adopted a formal set of service delivery standards, with the majority of those making the standards public. Creating a commitment to service provision and keeping themselves accountable against those standards will further enhance trust and confidence among stakeholders, and positively contribute to taxpayer compliance. Some selected links to service standards and commitments are included in Table 5.2.
Taxpayer compliance can, of course, be heavily affected by elements outside of the control of the tax administration, for example the state of the economy, changes in the reporting environment (for example a shift from salaried work to self-employment) and the perceived fairness of tax policy among other things. There are, though, a number of areas that tax administrations can consider when supporting taxpayer compliance through their service offerings:
Understanding and meeting taxpayer preferences;
Supporting self-service;
Providing educational and support initiatives; and
Providing collaborative services.
This chapter examines those areas in more detail. It also comments on the importance of providing an inclusive set of services to ensure equitable access for all citizens, including those with disabilities or those without online access.
Taxpayer contact volumes are very large scale. Administrations reported more than 3.5 billion incoming contacts via online taxpayer accounts, and there are still more than 300 million incoming telephone contacts (see Table 5.4). However, unlike many other government services, at the individual level taxpayers will often have very limited periodic contact with tax administrations and for some this may be in relatively stressful situations involving significant sums of money or with risks of penalties in the background. For many taxpayers, expectations have also changed as regards the availability of services and response times, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic and in light of the ongoing digital transformation of the economy.
Taxpayer satisfaction surveys can provide valuable information to tax administrations regarding services' expectations as well as insights into service perception. Table 5.3. shows that around 85% of administrations indicated measuring individual taxpayer satisfaction, and 75% business taxpayer satisfaction. The percentage is lower when it comes to measuring the satisfaction of tax intermediaries, with 56% of administrations conducting satisfaction surveys from this stakeholder group. For those conducting taxpayer satisfaction surveys, slightly more than half publish the results across all three groups. Box 5.1. contains examples of administrations understanding and meeting taxpayer preferences.
Percentage of administrations
Source: CIAT, IOTA, IMF, OECD, International Survey on Revenue Administration, Table B.45 Satisfaction surveys, https://data.rafit.org/regular.aspx?key=74180919 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
Czechia – Functional Currency
A functional currency is typically the currency in which the company conducts the majority of its transactions. Currently in the Czech Republic, this may be the Euro, the US Dollar or the British Pound, in addition to the Czech Crown. The 2024 Accounting Act has been introduced to reduce the administrative burden and make accounting in the Czech Republic more compatible with global accounting frameworks, reducing conflicts with EU law. It allows companies to use a functional currency as the currency of accounting, in addition to the Czech Crown.
Although a taxpayer may keep its accounting records in a currency other than the Czech Crown, the tax base and the tax itself, will continue to be reported in Czech Crowns in the corporate income tax return with the legislation containing special provisions for the conversion of the functional currency when calculating tax. In the future it is expected that the list of functional currencies will be expanded and additionally the tax liability itself will be calculated and further administrated in the functional currency.
United Kingdom – Child Benefit digital transformation
The United Kingdom’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have enabled thousands of parents to claim their Child Benefit payments online – reducing wait times and customer costs. Between February and September 2023 these new services were accessed more than 2.7 million times. HMRC has reduced the need for customers to print or post forms, reducing wait times (from claim to payment) from nineteen days to just three days for most customers.
To improve customer contact and provide reassurance about the progress of online claims, HMRC is developing the use of digital communications to provide customers with the information they need, when they need it, using their channel of choice. One of the main reasons that customers contact HMRC is to ‘progress chase’ and HMRC has received customer feedback that reassurance is important when interacting online.
New technology introduced in 2024 will enable HMRC to provide targeted support such as text messages and push notifications to customers to take action and provide assurance that the task has been successfully completed, all without having to call HMRC. In January 2024, HMRC started sending a selection of Child Benefit claimant customers an SMS message, reassuring them that their claims were being processed and pointing them to further information online, reducing the need for them to contact HMRC.
Sources: Czechia (2024) and the United Kingdom (2024).
An important aspect of meeting taxpayer preferences is getting the mix of channels right. Table 5.4. highlights the shift to digital that occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic, with use of online channels continuing to grow significantly. The decline of in-person visits to the tax office did not persist during 2022. However, it remains well below pre-pandemic volumes. Digital assistance, for example through chatbots, has become an important channel in many jurisdictions. The data confirms a structural shift away from channels that occur during tax office working hours to channels that can be used 24/7.
Note: The table only includes jurisdictions for which data was available for 2018 to 2022. The number of jurisdictions for which data was available is shown in the table.
Sources: CIAT, IOTA, IMF, OECD, International Survey on Revenue Administration, Tables A.96 Incoming service contacts: Track keeping and number of contacts by channel - Online and digital assistance, A.97 Incoming service contacts: Number of contacts by channel - Telephone call and e-mail, and A.98 Incoming service contacts: Number of contacts by channel - Mail / post and in-person, https://data.rafit.org/regular.aspx?key=74180896 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
Understanding what channels taxpayers are using and how will allow tax administrations to adjust their service offerings, if needed. As Table 5.5. illustrates, the vast majority of administrations use statistics about service channel usage to create new or improved services, and to anticipate service demand to adjust staff allocation.
Percentage of administrations
Source: CIAT, IOTA, IMF, OECD, International Survey on Revenue Administration, Table B.39 Service channels: Statistics about service channel usage, https://data.rafit.org/regular.aspx?key=74180919 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
HMRC is reducing the amount of post sent to customers to speed up and simplify customer communication while reducing costs. Business improvements are also being implemented which support a digital journey for the customer.
In 2023/24, HMRC stopped sending letters reminding customers new to the self-assessment system of their first filing deadline, letters relating to self-assessment and Corporation Tax repayment notifications or a Pay As You Earn employers payment booklet. These changes have removed around 5.2 million pieces of HMRC-generated post.
HMRC is developing plans to build on these successes in 2024/25, aiming to:
Eradicate unnecessary paper outputs;
Provide digital versions of paper outputs for customers who use our online services;
Improve content for customers including better signposting to digital channels and guidance, for example, through the use of QR codes.
Source: United Kingdom (2024).
The self-service offering from tax administrations continues to grow, with an expanding range of self-services being provided. Common examples of this include the ability to register, file and pay on-line, along with a range of interactive tools. This is leading to efficiency gains in tax administrations, as well as being able to provide a more 24/7-style service to taxpayers. More than 85% of administrations indicated using service channel data to encourage service adoption by taxpayers, for example by promoting self-service (see Table 5.5.).
Table 5.6. illustrates some of the online services that administrations are offering. While the ISORA survey looked at the availability of those online services, there is additional information in the Inventory of Tax Technology Initiatives (ITTI) that shows whether automated responses are sent (when pre-determined criteria are met) to a person requesting, for example, when asking for extensions of deadlines or payment arrangements, see Table 5.7. Providing those automated responses, without human intervention, makes those genuine self-services.
The growth in the use of technology and more personalised services has also seen tax administrations focus more on the experience of taxpayers in using these services. This has also led to taxpayer centred service improvements which help improve outcomes for administrations and taxpayers alike. As mentioned in Chapter 10, a significant number of administrations, around 70%, employ user interface design specialists with the goal of ensuring that services are easy to use (see Table 10.4.).
Percentage of administrations
Source: CIAT, IOTA, IMF, OECD, International Survey on Revenue Administration, Tables B.41 Service channels: Online services - Part 1, and B.42 Service channels: Online services - Part 2, https://data.rafit.org/regular.aspx?key=74180919 (accessed on 10 September 2024), and Table A.110 Innovative technologies: Implementation and usage - Whole-of-government identification, digital authentication technology, and virtual assistants, https://data.rafit.org/regular.aspx?key=74180897 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
Percentage of administrations that provide automated responses (when pre-determined criteria are met) as a percent of those that offer the respective online service
Note: The table shows the number of administrations that provide automated responses for online services when pre-determined criteria are met, as a percent of those administrations that offer such online services. The percentages are based on ITTI data from 52 jurisdictions that are covered in this report and that have completed the global survey on digitalisation.
Source: OECD et al. (2024), Inventory of Tax Technology Initiatives, https://web-archive.oecd.org/temp/2023-03-09/618462-taxpayer-touchpoints.htm, Tables TT1, TT2 and TT3 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
Bulgaria – Submission of taxpayer data
The National Revenue Agency (NRA) has introduced a new service whereby data can be submitted automatically by the taxpayer through their own systems as opposed to having to enter the NRA portal and upload files. This is done either through a public application programming interface or through communication at the system-system level. This allows for the process to be carried out automatically in the clients’ data processing systems and makes it easier for the taxpayer to comply with their obligations.
Canada – Secure exchange of files
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has introduced a Secure Drop Zone (SDZ) initiative to facilitate the secure exchange of files up to 10Gb of data between the CRA and their clients. This initiative helps address the critical need for secure data sharing of large data files.
SDZ provides a cost saving and practical solution that can be implemented in multiple administrative contexts, allowing the exchange of sensitive information in a quick and efficient manner. By introducing SDZ, the CRA has improved the speed and safety of digital file exchanges between its programmes and its clients. This approach ensures that sensitive information is shared securely, reducing the risk of data breaches.
The implementation of this initiative has yielded significant results for the CRA. SDZ has streamlined the receipt of information into one hub, reduced the time required for data sharing, reduced the risk of sharing sensitive tax-related information by less secure methods and ensured that each file transfer has an audit trail.
China (People’s Republic of) – Modernising Personal Income Tax collection
The State Tax Administration (STA) has modernised the process of collecting Personal Income Taxes. This approach aims to accelerate the digital transformation and improvement of the personal income tax system, improving the experience for both tax administrations and taxpayers. The key features are:
Mobile application: The introduction of a mobile tax app has made filing tax returns easier by breaking down complex paper returns into individual, comprehensible components. Innovations such as pre-filled forms and automatic payment calculations have made it easier for people to comply with their obligations, making filing tax returns more efficient and reducing the need for paper forms.
Information sharing mechanisms across government departments: Sharing information across government departments verifies the data provided by the taxpayer. This makes it easier for taxpayers to claim benefits, get any refunds and qualify for any special additional deductions.
Behavioural insights: Behavioural insight methods have been used to send personalised prompts and reminders to taxpayers to encourage them to fulfil their obligations. An annual tax review feature helps taxpayers remember important tax events and filings, promoting awareness and changing paying taxes from being a burden to something to be celebrated.
Online webchat platform: A new platform is under construction to provide personalised assistance when taxpayers have questions around tax policies or system operations. Programmed using artificial intelligence, when taxpayers have a question, a virtual assistant provides answers. This is aimed at improving the taxpayer experience.
Costa Rica – Integrated Tax Administration System
Costa Rica has invested a considerable amount in the implementation of a new tax administration platform – the Integrated Tax Administration System (TRIBU-CR) - to upgrade the tax agency’s online services. This will offer services such as registration, declaration, payment, applications processing, consultations and complaints handling. It will also allow for the automatic exchange of information with OECD countries. TRIBU-CR is going to start to work in 2025.
Portugal – Online tax residency certification
Portugal has simplified the procedure for filing the Residence Tax Certificate. This is a compulsory document issued by the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority attesting tax residence in Portugal, for the purposes of applying double taxation conventions. As of 1 January 2022, taxpayers no longer need to send the forms to the tax office to be signed and stamped.
Instead, taxpayers can request a Certificate of Residency (CoR) from the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority website, and, as long as they meet the requirements, the CoR becomes immediately available to download or print. This new procedure for obtaining a CoR has significantly reduced the taxpayers’ administrative burden, as they no longer have to physically handle any documents given the procedure is handled electronically.
In order to make it a secure form, validation mechanisms have been introduced that can be checked at any time by foreign tax administrations and taxpayers.
This has also reduced the burden on Portuguese taxpayers that need a certification of residency in foreign jurisdictions, as all of Portugal’s double taxation agreement partners have been informed about this new procedure. Taxpayers just have to fill in the forms of the foreign jurisdiction they are resident in, attach the Portuguese CoR, and send the documentation to the relevant authorities.
Spain – Multi-channel information and assistance service specifically addressed to non-residents
Spain have introduced a new service to provide information and assistance on taxation matters for non-residents without permanent establishment (Non-Resident Income Tax, non-established VAT, Inheritance and Gift Tax and payment by transfers from abroad), through various non-face-to-face channels (telephone appointment, virtual assistant available in Spanish and English, chat and online forms). The service is provided by specialised officials from 9 am to 7 pm.
Sources: Bulgaria (2024), Canada (2024), China (People’s Republic of) (2024), Costa Rica (2024), Portugal (2024) and Spain (2024).
Virtual assistants
The previous editions of this series highlighted how a growing number of administrations are using virtual or digital assistants to help respond to taxpayer enquiries and support self-service. This is confirmed through the data in Table 5.4. on service demand by channel, but also in Table 5.8. which shows that the growth has been significant (plus 29 percentage points between 2018 and 2022) and that these services are now commonly used by many administrations.
Percentage of administrations that use this technology
Sources: CIAT, IOTA, IMF, OECD, International Survey on Revenue Administration, Tables A.108 Innovative technologies: Implementation and usage - Blockchain, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, A.109 Innovative technologies: Implementation and usage - Data science, robotic process automation, and APIs, and A.110 Innovative technologies: Implementation and usage - Whole-of-government identification, digital authentication technology, and virtual assistants, https://data.rafit.org/regular.aspx?key=74180897 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
The success of these services continues to be developed further, with jurisdictions investigating how they can use advances in artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver more sophisticated levels of support. Figure 5.1. shows that 40% of administrations who have a virtual assistant are using AI in some form to improve the service. This can allow the system to cope with more complex questions being asked by taxpayers and/or more personalised answers being given. This is part of the wider trend of the use of AI in tax administration which can be seen throughout this report.
Percentage of administrations
Note: The percentages are based on ITTI data from 52 jurisdictions that are covered in this report and that have completed the global survey on digitalisation.
Source: OECD et al. (2024), Inventory of Tax Technology Initiatives, https://web-archive.oecd.org/temp/2023-03-09/618462-taxpayer-touchpoints.htm, Table TT5 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
Türkiye has introduced an online chat service to provide fast and easily accessible up-to-date information on tax legislation, which in turn aims to increase the efficiency of the administration and improve the customer experiences.
The Digital Tax Assistant (GIBI), is supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and has the capacity to provide 24/7 service to users. It provides answers to general, non-personal and non-case-specific legislative questions as well as general guidance on electronic services. It also enables taxpayers to carry out certain functions online, such as making payments.
GIBI can be accessed through the tax administration website, through the GIB mobile app or messenger apps. GIBI is constantly updating and improving its answers through machine learning.
Source: Türkiye (2024).
Mobile applications
The recent trend for the increasing use of mobile applications by tax administrations seen in other editions of this series has continued. Mobile applications allow taxpayers to access services on the go, and thus provide additional flexibility and support self-service.
While the main use often remains the provision of information and guidance, mobile applications are becoming increasingly transactional, and are becoming a primary way for taxpayers to access relevant records and personal tax accounts, communicate with the tax administration, supply information and tax returns and make payments. Box 5.5. provides latest developments in this area.
Croatia – mPorenza: Simplifying tax compliance through mobile convenience
mPorezna is a mobile application designed to streamline and simplify tax-related processes.
Offered by the Croatian Tax Administration, this innovative app marks a significant leap toward a more accessible and user-friendly tax system and improves the way citizens, freelancers, craftsmen, and businesses in Croatia manage their tax-related tasks. The versatile app delivers an array of electronic services, significantly reducing the complexities and costs associated with meeting tax obligations. The application provides real-time updates on tax obligations, deadlines, and other pertinent information, ensuring users stay informed and compliant. mPorezna also supports the digital submission of various tax forms, reducing paperwork and expediting the overall process.
Users of mPorezna gain instant access to tax-related information and services, from checking their tax accounting card balance to downloading 2D barcodes for payments, reviewing submitted forms, the app ensures easy management of tax liabilities. mPorezna also supports the digital submission of various tax forms, reducing paperwork and expediting the overall process. Additionally, the app facilitates fiscal responsibility by enabling users to verify issued invoices via QR code scanning and report inaccuracies directly to the Tax Administration.
This proactive approach aligns with the broader digital transformation goals, making tax compliance more manageable and accessible in an era dominated by mobile technologies. Available on app stores, mPorezna represents a pivotal step towards a more accessible, efficient, and user-friendly tax management system.
Hungary – Mobile application
The National Tax and Customs Administration (NTCA) of Hungary is committed to reducing administrative burdens by taking digitalisation to a higher level.
In 2022, the NTCA Mobile application was used by nearly half a million taxpayers. As a result of recent improvements, taxpayers now have the NTCA’s general taxpayer information interface at their fingertips - where they can consult useful information such as their current account data, the quantities of goods they can bring in and take out of the country without paying taxes, the current settlement prices of fuel, and their employment relationship data.
Moreover, further developments of this platform have seen the roll-out of complete services for tax compliance. For example, a simplified user interface was developed and the payment system improved to make it easier for taxpayers to pay vehicle tax, with a legally mandated instalment payment request feature introduced in 2024. A notification functionality was also introduced in the mobile app, which sends push notifications to the taxpayer’s smartphone with a notification of changes in the taxpayer’s employment details (e.g. hours worked).
For more information, please see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBOzHOAzq6Y (accessed on 10 September 2024).
United Kingdom – Storing National Insurance numbers in the mobile application and digital wallets
HMRC has supported more of its customers to self-serve through digital channels. In the last twelve months, 3.28 million customers have used the HMRC App 77.9 million times, a growth of 73% when compared with customers in the previous twelve months. The HMRC App has a rating between 4.7 - 4.8/5 on online app stores.
HMRC has also made it easier for taxpayers to find and store their National Insurance Number (NINO). In a first for HMRC, an innovative feature has been launched enabling individuals to store a NINO in a digital wallet in their devices. More than 335 000 customers have stored their NINO in a digital wallet and around 700 000 customers have also viewed or downloaded a NINO letter. These improvements will help reduce calls from people who have lost their NINOs and help HMRC move away from issuing paper letters.
Sources: Croatia (2024), Hungary (2024) and the United Kingdom (2024).
Education of taxpayers has two aspects, one around taxpayers’ understanding of their own obligations and their abilities to meet them and the other awareness-raising around the role of tax in society. Both are important factors in supporting voluntary compliance. Influencing beliefs, attitudes and norms is generally considered an effective and efficient way to influence compliance behaviour over the long term. In this regard, the majority of tax administrations report carrying out educational initiatives and around half provide free tax services for new businesses and lower income individuals (see Table 5.9.).
In practice, this will include the provision of online material and e-learning, information campaigns (including through social media), and conferences and community outreach among other forms. The importance of social media to inform citizens has been recognised by almost all administrations, with 95% indicating that they use social media to distribute information, and around 75% reporting using it interactively (see Table B.40).
Percentage of administrations
Source: CIAT, IOTA, IMF, OECD, International Survey on Revenue Administration, Table B.47 Taxpayer education, https://data.rafit.org/regular.aspx?key=74180919 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
Previous editions in this series as well as other OECD reports have provided numerous examples of educational and business support initiatives, for example:
Chapters 6 and 7 of the report Tax Administration 2019 (OECD, 2019[1]) included detailed descriptions on how Canada and Japan educate future taxpayers.
The 2021 edition of Building Tax Culture, Compliance and Citizenship: A Global Source Book on Taxpayer Education (OECD, 2021[2]) analyses a unique dataset of 140 taxpayer education initiatives and aims to help tax administrations in designing and implementing taxpayer education initiatives. It also shows that increasing tax literacy can play an active role in shaping a country’s tax culture and generate an improvement in tax morale, the intrinsic motivation to pay taxes.
The 2023 report Communication and Engagement with SMEs: Supporting SMEs to Get Tax Right (OECD, 2023[3]) examines communication strategies that tax administrations can use to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in fulfilling their tax obligations, and analyses the various tools and channels available to tax administrations, including educational programmes.
Canada – Assisted Compliance Program
The CRA uses an escalating approach to address and deter non-compliance as early as possible with the appropriate level of intervention; this includes communications, education, and outreach to help taxpayers meet their tax obligations.
The CRA approaches its work with the underlying premise that most people - given the opportunity and the right services - will meet their tax obligations. Recognising that the tax system is complex and that voluntary compliance is more cost-effective than enforcement, the CRA is increasingly focused on helping clients comply by using an education-first approach.
When addressing non-compliance, the CRA ensures customer service by adapting interventions to the circumstances, while remaining professional, transparent, fair and honest in how the client is treated. As such, compliance strategies continue to increase the use of an outreach and education-based approach, designed to inform taxpayers of their reporting obligations and their potential entitlements.
One example is the Assisted Compliance Program, which aims to improve voluntary compliance and address non-compliance through an education-first approach. This program bridges the gap between outreach and audit activities, helping individuals and businesses understand and meet their obligations under the tax system, while avoiding costly audit interventions.
The Assisted Compliance Program helps taxpayers to amend incorrectly filed returns by employing a more appropriate intervention than traditional audits. It represents an evolution of taxpayer education activities by engaging them with tailored information and individual support. This way, the CRA can reserve more comprehensive and traditional enforcement efforts, such as audits, for more serious or complicated cases.
Chile – Encouraging social responsibility within business groups
Establishing a sense of responsibility around paying taxes is crucial in Chile. The Internal Revenue Service (SII) has particularly focused on instilling this within business groups.
To encourage awareness and responsible behaviour around paying taxes, the SII has developed tools aiming to minimise potential non-compliance by business groups and underscore the significance of each entity’s tax contributions to the country. For instance, the SII has outlined a set of best practices that businesses should take into account to ensure compliance. Additionally, a Tax Contribution Report is published for each business group, detailing how their taxes are used to contribute to state finances.
By creating tools and reports that demonstrate the value of compliance, the SII is fostering a collective effort to contribute towards the progress of the country and creating a sense of social responsibility amongst business groups.
China (People’s Republic of) – TaxExpress
In 2023, the STA launched TaxExpress, a service to aid taxpayers in understanding how international taxation works. This aims to facilitate cross-border flows of investment, technology and resource.
The key features are as follows:
Communication: TaxExpress enables taxpayers to get in touch with the tax administration if they have any issues or queries. Policy updates via email or text are also available to taxpayers if subscribed to.
Knowledge products: Free knowledge products have been made available and are updated regularly on the STA website, as well as its social media account.
Transfer pricing: More resources have been allocated to the STA's programmes on Transfer Pricing, generating positive feedback from taxpayers.
Country profiles: Country profiles on tax have been created for 105 jurisdictions, to help taxpayers do their due diligence when doing business abroad.
International tax law: Key international tax law cases have been published, which may be helpful when trying to resolve disputes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): An FAQs page has been published, compiling answers to the most common questions from the STA’s phone service.
France – Using social media to communicate with younger taxpayers
The Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP) has started using social media accounts to engage young people, as part of its wider communication strategy.
In 2023, DGFiP published a video explaining how to file a tax return faster than a choreographed dance. DGFiP also produced short musical videos, where a young artist sang along to pop music hits to encourage users to fulfil their tax obligations. The content was intended to be both informative and humorous. Using tailored videos on social media is much more visible to younger taxpayers than the content previously published on DGFiP's website.
These videos have generated tens of thousands of views, as well as media attention. They are a useful addition to DGFiP’s communication resources.
India – Taxpayers’ Hubs
Taxpayers’ Hubs are dedicated spaces designed to serve as centres for spreading tax awareness and financial literacy in the tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India, to showcase the visibility of the Income Tax Department in terms of administering taxpayer services and the ease of voluntary compliance. The Department established Taxpayers' Hubs in various cities across the length and breadth of the country, namely - Gorakhpur, Bhagalpur, Cuttack, Jhansi and Vishakhapatnam. More are due to be set up in Shillong and Udaipur.
The Taxpayers’ Hubs are built in areas frequently visited by the public, such as parks, convention centres, community halls, local fairs etc. They feature a diverse range of kiosks, each serving a specific purpose:
Informational Kiosk to disseminate crucial tax-related information and updates;
Grievance Kiosk to provide taxpayer assistance and resolve any tax-related concerns or issues;
Educational Kiosk to promote tax literacy and provide valuable guidance on tax planning and compliance.
Furthermore, the Taxpayers’ Hub features a vibrant Children's Corner that houses board games, puzzles, virtual reality games and comics on taxation, laying the foundation for financial literacy at an early age.
In the Taxpayers' Hubs, informative brochures and crucial tax information are available through LED screens, displayed to achieve the objective of educating and enlightening taxpayers visiting the hubs.
Through a combination of interactive and informative brochures, and the powerful tagline “Every Taxpayer is a Nation Builder”, the Taxpayers' Hub strives to empower taxpayers with the knowledge to make informed decisions.
Ireland – ‘Introduction to Tax’ module
Tax compliance relies on taxpayers having a clear appreciation and understanding of the tax system and their compliance obligations. The ‘Introduction to Tax’ module is a teaching resource that has been developed to provide students with an overview of key taxes that they may encounter throughout their personal and professional lives.
Revenue’s analysis of customer contacts identified the 16 to 20-year-old age cohort as a high contact group that was not featured in Revenue’s targeted outbound communications. The module aims to improve tax literacy, encourage the use of Revenue’s online services, educate young people on the social utility and importance of taxation, and empower them to manage their taxes. The key elements include:
Identify, engage, and collaborate with relevant stakeholders;
Conduct pilots with a range of different schools including urban/rural, single gender/mixed gender, public/private;
Conduct surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups to gather valuable feedback.
The results have been very positive. Students who have undertaken the module demonstrate:
49% increase in understanding how to register for tax when starting work;
41% increase in understanding how to use Revenue’s online services;
37% increase in understanding how to read a payslip;
29% increase in understanding how to calculate tax.
This may be a young person’s first interaction with a government agency. This first positive interaction provides them with confidence and reassurance in future dealings, which in turn builds trust in government leading to lasting benefits for all Public Service Bodies.
Italy – Tax education
In Italy, educating young people about tax is important. The Italian Revenue Agency has partnered with the Ministry for Education since 2004 to promote the ‘Tax and School’ project. The project includes school visits, visits to the Revenue Agency, competitions and participation in institutional events and at the international level, for example at Global Money Week. Children are introduced to the world of tax through in different interactive formats, such as stories, comics, games and video clips.
Since 2017, the Italian Revenue Agency has also participated in the European Commission’s TAXEDU project, which aims to educate young Europeans about taxes and how they affect their lives. There is a portal, aimed at young people aged 9 to 25, to provide information on different aspects related to tax, with the content and language tailored to age. The portal is periodically updated with games, e-learning material and microlearning clips designed to involve young people in the approach to taxation in a fun and engaging way. There are also specific training materials dedicated to teachers.
Italy – Tax digital communication strategy and campaigns
In recent years, the web and social media strategy of the Italian Revenue Agency has gradually changed its focus, becoming increasingly sensitive to taxpayer’s needs. This means that the communication strategy is not limited to being informative, but it also fulfils its institutional mission of enhancing services provided to taxpayers.
The Italian Revenue Agency uses a target-oriented approach by adopting integrated communication actions, to adapt to the use of social media by its taxpayers. With its proactive approach, the Agency has spread awareness of the opportunity to use its services in a more agile way.
On this basis, the Italian tax administration has chosen to consolidate its institutional presence online and through social media platforms, achieving encouraging results. For example, online video tutorials helping taxpayers to use new services received over 6 million views.
In line with the Agency’s digital communication strategy, the Agency performs integrated communication actions concerning different issues, such as pre-filled tax returns, mandatory e-invoicing and online services.
In recent months, the Agency has used a combination of its website and social media campaigns to promote where taxpayers can find accessible information to help them fulfil their tax obligations.
In reaching millions more taxpayers, the Italian Revenue Agency has increased its credibility and visibility, as well as showing openness and creating more dialogue with taxpayers.
Türkiye – Communication with new taxpayers to increase voluntary compliance
Türkiye has adapted numerous communication approaches to increase the voluntary compliance of recently established personal and corporate income taxpayers. Taxpayers are established on a monthly basis, and the documents are given to taxpayers through a visit from officials.
Taxpayers are provided with the following guidance:
Letters reminding personal income taxpayers of their basic rights and obligations, and indicating the channels through which they can contact the tax administration.
Brochures in which taxpayers' rights and obligations are briefly and clearly explained.
Communication cards containing information on the various ways in which taxpayers can communicate with the tax administration.
Text messages were also sent to congratulate the newly established taxpayers for starting their activities, with a link to the "Information Video for Recently Established Taxpayers" prepared by the tax administration.
Sources: Canada (2024), Chile (2024), China (People’s Republic of) (2024), France (2024), India (2024), Ireland (2024), Italy (2024) and Türkiye (2024).
As the digital services developed by tax administrations grow, more and more administrations recognise that these services bring opportunities:
To join-up with other government agencies to provide a whole of government service experience; and
To work with third-party developers to connect with the systems of taxpayers.
Joined-up government services
Tax administrations are reporting joining-up with other government agencies to enhance the overall service experience across government, including through “collect once, use many times” approaches. Tax administrations have a special place within government in this respect since they will often hold up-to-date verified information on identity, will be involved in both receiving and making payments and will receive and send information to third parties (such as financial institutions and employers.)
Table 5.10. shows two examples of joined-up government services. In many jurisdictions registering for tax or making tax payments are now part of wider government processes, thus reducing and simplifying administrative burdens. Also, a number of country examples of such joined-up services have been included in previous editions in this series, for example, in Box 1.7 of the 2019 edition (OECD, 2019[1]). In addition, the example in Box 5.7. illustrates how the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore has set-up a team that builds linkages between the tax administration and the wider government ecosystem.
Percentage of jurisdictions that have the respective service
Note: The percentages are based on ITTI data from 52 jurisdictions that are covered in this report and that have completed the global survey on digitalisation.
Source: OECD et al. (2024), Inventory of Tax Technology Initiatives, https://web-archive.oecd.org/temp/2023-03-09/618462-taxpayer-touchpoints.htm, Tables TT1, TT2 and TT3 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
With greater emphasis on transformation within the tax ecosystem and in the spirit of organisational agility, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has piloted the Digital Ecosystem Task Force (TF).
The TF is made up of two cross-divisional project teams to address the supply and demand aspects of digitalisation within the tax ecosystem over two years. Following the successful pilot of the TF, IRAS set up a dedicated team known as the Digital Ecosystem and Partnership Team (DEPT), a highly diverse group of officers with business knowledge, information technology and data management expertise, marketing and stakeholder engagement skills, as well as tax knowledge and grant management expertise.
DEPT spearheaded the engagement of the tax ecosystem and accelerated the development of digital solutions that facilitate seamless fulfilment of tax obligations. For example, DEPT enabled the interoperability of systems by building linkages with the wider government ecosystem, leveraging on existing whole of government initiatives and partnering with other government agencies to facilitate seamless data transmission via accounting or payroll software. The network effect was also achieved by establishing a self-enforcing network, through maintaining a list of software developers who have successfully integrated their software with IRAS.
DEPT has enabled IRAS to foster a more robust and interconnected digital ecosystem, driving the widespread adoption of digital solutions by taxpayers and tax intermediaries, and enhancing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the tax compliance processes for businesses and individuals.
Source: Singapore (2024).
Working with third-party developers
Embedding services and processes in the natural systems used by taxpayers in their daily lives and businesses will help to improve tax compliance, and also reduce administrative burdens and free up time that owners can use to grow their businesses. Most of those natural systems are prepared by third-party developers and many administrations are driving collaborations with those developers to open up new services. In addition to embedding services, a number of administrations are also creating natural systems that will assist taxpayers to fulfil their tax obligations, either directly or in collaboration with third parties (see Table 5.11.).
Percentage of administrations
Note: The percentages are based on ITTI data from 52 jurisdictions that are covered in this report and that have completed the global survey on digitalisation.
Source: OECD et al. (2024), Inventory of Tax Technology Initiatives, https://web-archive.oecd.org/temp/2023-03-09/618462-taxpayer-touchpoints.htm, Table TT7 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
The connection of the tax administration's system to the natural systems of taxpayers is typically done through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). APIs are allowing connectivity between systems, people and things without providing direct access, and are the critical enablers of many innovative services. It is against this background that around 85% of tax administrations are now creating APIs and three-quarters of them are making the APIs available to third party developers. Further, as part of the process of developing APIs, close to 60% of tax administrations are engaging in co-creation with third parties.
The OECD report Unlocking the digital economy – a guide to unlocking application programming interfaces in government (OECD, 2019[4]) provides an overview of the practices, techniques and standards used to deliver contemporary and effective digital services for taxpayers through APIs. As the services delivered become more sophisticated, and play a greater role in delivering a quality service to taxpayers, tax administrations are having to invest more in the management and oversight of their APIs. Box 5.8. contains examples of some of the latest developments in administration regarding APIs and working with third-party developers.
Australia – Collaborations with third parties to provide new services
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) remains committed to strengthening the relationship with its Digital Service Provider (DSP) partners through its engagement framework. DSPs play a critical role in the administration of the tax and superannuation systems, and early collaboration is critical to the success of any new initiatives. The software industry continues to evolve with new technology innovations and a desire to integrate with financial platforms.
The ATO's Strategic Working Group is used to consult with a broad segment of industry representatives on a range of strategic topics impacting the future of the industry. Examples of topics for 2024 include: real time payments aligned to reporting obligations, utilisation of AI in software, improving take up of e‑invoicing and continuing to evolve the DSP Operational Security Framework to improve the integrity of ATO services and broader ecosystem.
Australia – Guidance in software concept
The ATO has a vision of developing a digital-first ecosystem that utilises the natural systems of small businesses to support greater awareness and understanding of tax. In line with this, it has introduced a guidance in software concept, which aims to:
Embed high-quality, system generated tax guidance and tools into the natural systems that small businesses use to run their business;
Deliver advice in real-time;
Support better decision making and understanding of the potential tax consequences of transactions.
The ATO is working with its digital partners and tax professionals to co-design a solution to make its existing public advice and guidance more consumable and accessible. This is being achieved through embedding guidance prompts and tools into the software services used by tax professionals and small businesses. The concept is consistent with the OECD building blocks for a future tax system (tax rule management and application) and moving towards the OCED’s Tax Administration 3.0 vision.
The guidance in software concept has two parts, testing:
the overarching concept and framework of co-designing with the ATO’s digital partners and tax professionals to encourage innovation in the wholesale market to help taxpayers get it right;
the concept of focusing on an area of risk or section of law that is complex and difficult for taxpayers or their advisers to understand.
Brazil – Integration with taxpayers’ natural systems: Integra Accountant
The "Integra Contador" project aims to digitally integrate private accounting systems with the Brazilian tax administration. By simplifying and speeding up accounting processes - including company registration, invoice processing, payroll calculation, tax form generation, and financial report delivery - the project seeks to reduce processing and response times by contributing to a more efficient and secure environment for companies, service providers and the tax administration.
The project has already shown promising results in 2023, efficiently processing large databases of information, including tax declarations. The continuous development of this project aims to improve tax compliance, while improving public and private sector partnerships.
Singapore – “One-Stop Payroll” solution
The One-Stop Payroll (OSP) initiative represents significant progression in the collaborative efforts of the government with various ecosystem players.
IRAS, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB), software developers, and employers, have worked together to create an integrated digital service. This service enables employers to fulfil their payroll-related statutory obligations across multiple agencies through a single payroll software. Presently, employers are required to make multiple separate submissions in varying formats and at different frequencies to different government agencies, resulting in a substantial regulatory burden.
The OSP initiative affords employers a one-stop solution to fulfil these submissions easily through their payroll/HR system, which is integrated seamlessly with IRAS, CPFB and MOM by way of Application Programmable Interfaces. This initiative yields tangible benefits, particularly cost and time savings for businesses. It also enables software developers and ecosystem partners to enhance and expand the functionalities of their solution offerings. From a whole of government perspective, this employer and citizen-centric approach to service delivery is instrumental in facilitating accurate and timely submissions by employers. It effectively reduces the compliance burden for them and minimises the need for downstream compliance and audit processes, ultimately fostering a more efficient regulatory environment.
Sweden – Submitting an income tax return for a limited company through an Application Programme Interface
From initially only offering tax return submissions on paper, the Swedish Tax Agency (STA) has gradually developed their digital services, and there is now the possibility to submit a complete income tax return for a limited company through an API solution. The progress over time can be described in three steps:
Step 1 – Tax return submission completed via e-service or file transfer, where only certain parts can be submitted digitally.
Step 2 – From 2021, the tax return submission can be completed via file transfer, including attachments, digital signatures and other details.
Step 3 – From 2023, the tax return submission can be completed directly via API in the company's own tax return programme, combined with a digital signature.
The STA still offer all the services mentioned above, including paper tax returns. All services are still in use by companies, but the use of more modern services is gradually increasing. The STA have found that the amount of paper returns has decreased every year, alongside the use of services with only partly digital submission.
Sweden – Rules as Code concept
The STA has explored how the Rules as Code (RaC) concept can be applied to facilitate tax compliance for small to medium sized businesses.
The STA now provides a technical solution that creates opportunities for business system developers to enable legal guidance in their systems. The STA creates rule-based machine-readable files, as well as written specifications in different areas of tax specific legislation supplied as open data. When used together with a rule engine, the rule files combined with existing data in the business system could create a more automated compliance process.
A key element of this work is that STA only makes the rule files available for use, and is not obliged to develop any application or services of its own. The internal work process enables legal experts within the STA to independently create rule files and make them publicly available without the need to involve technical assistance. This is made possible by the development of a rule editor that the experts can use to convert decision trees into machine readable code. To date, the STA has made rule files and specifications in three different legal areas as well as an Application Programme Interface available for use.
The concept, even though already available and in production, is still in a development phase and continuously improving with feedback from business system developers.
Sources: Australia (2024), Brazil (2024), Singapore (2024) and Sweden (2024).
Tax administrations should consider providing comprehensive services that ensure equitable access for all citizens, including those with disabilities, those without internet access, or those who do not speak any of the official languages of the jurisdiction. Providing accessible formats, multilingual support, and offline service options facilitates bridging gaps in communication and access, promoting a more inclusive society. These measures can assist enhancing the trust in the system and voluntary compliance.
As can be seen in Table 5.12., the majority of administrations are aware of this while designing their services. Almost all administrations make special provisions for taxpayers with disabilities. Also, while there is an increasing shift to the use of electronic services for both convenience and cost-efficiency purposes, a proportion of taxpayers will not have access to, or be comfortable with such services. As a result, more than 80% of administrations offer specific services to support digitally disadvantaged taxpayers. Moreover, more than 60% of administrations ensures that online services are available to users who have visual, auditory motor or cognitive disabilities.1
Table 5.12. also shows that the majority of administrations provides services in non-official languages, thus ensuring that all taxpayers can access the essential information required to comply with their tax obligations. Box 5.9. shows an example how authorities are helping foreign employees arriving in Finland.
Percentage of administrations offering such services
Source: CIAT, IOTA, IMF, OECD, International Survey on Revenue Administration, Table B.40 Service channels: Features of the service approach, https://data.rafit.org/regular.aspx?key=74180919 (accessed on 10 September 2024).
Work Help Finland is a mobile application co-developed by the Police University College and Finnish public authorities. It provides foreign employees arriving in Finland with information on their rights and obligations around working in Finland. The application helps combat work-related exploitation, human trafficking and undeclared work by providing workers with important, easy-to-understand information all in one place. It is available in twenty-six languages and free to download.
The Finnish Tax Administration participated in the project by contributing taxation-related content for the app. Work Help Finland has basic information on Finland's taxing rights, how the duration of stay affects taxation, explains what the Finnish tax card is and how to get one, and how to apply for a Finnish personal ID. Special regulations concerning certain groups of workers are also discussed. The app also contains links to the Tax Administration's website and to its English-language pages.
Source: Finland (2024).
In addition, tax administrations are also considering how to assist taxpayers in difficult personal circumstances, for example by developing new services or by providing tailored support. Box 5.10. contains two examples, and Chapter 13 of the 2019 edition of this series described the ATO’s Dispute Assist which is a service that supports vulnerable individuals and small businesses with the objection process (OECD, 2019[1]).
Australia – Vulnerable clients
The ATO is seeing an increasing number of clients in vulnerable positions who cannot make their payments. Although the ATO has focused on debt recovery after the COVID-19 Pandemic, the ATO maintains a balanced approach that helps to both identify and differentiate assistance for vulnerable taxpayers having trouble.
To better assist those in need, the ATO has called for taxpayers who are experiencing difficulties making their payments to contact the ATO early to seek assistance. This enables a new approach of reduced but purposeful contact that provides taxpayers with tailored support and allows them to get back on track.
Vulnerability can impact clients in different ways, and it is difficult to define given the often complex and personal circumstances a client might face. The ATO therefore seeks to understand its taxpayers through the factors or barriers that prevent them from paying, lodging or engaging – such as serious illness, mental health challenges, natural disasters, family or domestic violence and low levels of support or literacy.
The ATO is working to design a simpler framework to support these taxpayers. For example, it has proposed the introduction of new products that pause recovery action while vulnerable taxpayers seek support or professional advice. There is also extra support and assistance teams available for vulnerable taxpayers with more complex and challenging situations.
Canada – Better support for executors to file taxes for deceased taxpayers
Settling the taxes of someone who died can be complex and emotional. In Autumn 2020, the CRA spoke to executors to understand the needs and challenges they faced when filing the taxes of someone who died.
The CRA has ongoing commitments to make it easier to understand and navigate the process. For example:
Improvements were made to the web content on Canada.ca to make it easier to find, navigate, and use the information to settle the taxes of someone who died. Comparing against the original content, the new content showed:
55% point increase in people finding relevant content
41% point increase in people completing their tasks successfully
31% point increase in self-reported ease of use
Contact centre agents are better equipped with specialised resources to help executors. Contact centre wait times are available online so executors can make an informed choice on the best time to call.
Individuals are able to text online with a CRA service representative to obtain answers to general questions on how to settle the taxes of someone who died.
Insights from this client experience project and user feedback is continuing to inform concrete service improvements.
Sources: Australia (2024) and Canada (2024).
References
[3] OECD (2023), Communication and Engagement with SMEs: Supporting SMEs to Get Tax Right, OECD Forum on Tax Administration, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f183d70a-en.
[2] OECD (2021), Building Tax Culture, Compliance and Citizenship: A Global Source Book on Taxpayer Education, Second Edition, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/18585eb1-en.
[1] OECD (2019), Tax Administration 2019: Comparative Information on OECD and other Advanced and Emerging Economies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/74d162b6-en.
[4] OECD (2019), Unlocking the Digital Economy - A Guide to Implementing Application Programming Interfaces in Government, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/56697aa7-en.
[5] OECD et al. (2024), Inventory of Tax Technology Initiatives, https://web-archive.oecd.org/tax/forum-on-tax-administration/tax-technology-tools-and-digital-solutions/index.htm (accessed on 10 September 2024).
← 1. See: OECD et al. (2024), Inventory of Tax Technology Initiatives, https://web-archive.oecd.org/temp/2023-03-09/618462-taxpayer-touchpoints.htm, Table TT4 (accessed on 10 September 2024).