III.1.12 Providing information, tools to
help taxpayers
The provision of information, tools and guidance to help
taxpayers comply is very important. If taxpayers do not understand what their
obligations are, any intervention to enforce compliance will be perceived as
unfair. Thus, a first step in considering how to address a specific
non-compliant behaviour should be to review whether or not the appropriate
steps have been taken to make obligations clear -- meaning transparent, easy to
understand, simple and non-confusing guidance. Such a process should include
consideration of the following issues:
· Are the authority's administrative requirements
clear?
· Are there clear information products available, at
relevant levels of detail, in the language of the taxpayer? Are these products
accessible in the taxpayers' channels of choice (e.g. web-based, paper-based,
CD-Rom)?
· Has there been adequate communication and marketing of
the information available? Has this included publication in relevant industry
or community vehicles?
· Are effective support services available to meet
taxpayers' needs? (e.g. telephone enquiry services, web services, educational
field visits, etc.)
· Have opportunities been taken to remind those
potentially at risk of what their obligations are?
Other measures include expanding a range of electronic
services provided (such as RRA website, online registration, e-filing and
portals). It is believed that there will be an increase in the number of
taxpayers and tax advisers taking advantage of the ease and convenience these
services provided.
The administrative burden of tax compliance has been shown to
fall more heavily on small businesses than on large businesses. From this
context, a specific program should be implemented to help those new to business
to get established. A pilot program should be conducted where those new to
business will be given a personal phone-call from a tax officer to check if the
business operator had any questions about his tax obligations. The objective of
this study will be to establish whether those who were contacted will be more
compliant (i.e. lodge on time and have smaller debts) than those who have not
been called.
There is also importance of tax consciousness and the tax
administration is introducing a strategy of increasing public awareness amongst
the younger generation. This is being done through series of debates and
essay-writing competitions at school level. It is hoped that this effort will
generate tax consciousness among the younger generation who will then become
law-abiding citizens.
Visits to business premises are also helpful because they
offer a personalised and direct approach to assistance, but these visits need
to be carefully pitched because they could be viewed as an enforcement
approach, leading to more angst and fear! It is more common to establish shop
fronts or call centres where taxpayers can access to seek assistance or
information to help them comply, or to conduct seminars or workshops for groups
of taxpayers
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