Improving Tax Services and Optimising the Business Environment:Insights from the Experience of Hong Kong SAR,China

To keep pace with the global trend of digital transformation,the Inland Revenue Department of Hong Kong SAR,China(HKIRD)has embarked on its digital transformation journey to upgrade its information technology(IT)infrastructure and pave the way for full adoption of electronic filing(e-filing)of profits tax returns for businesses(the e-filing project).The e-filing project was implemented in phases starting from June 2020 and expects full implementation by June 2025.The first phase of the digital transformation was successfully implemented earlier this year allowing more businesses to voluntarily e-file their profits tax returns.This article discusses the motivations behind the HKIRD’s e-filing project,the implementation process as well as its implications for Hong Kong SAR,China.Digital transformation is an inevitable development in the society and commerce.To keep pace with the global trend of digital transformation,the public sectors in various jurisdictions have been digitalising financial and tax reporting over the past decades to harness IT to improve delivery of public services to customers and enhance the standard of information collection and administration.

Optimizing Tax Services to Improve the Business Environment in Ethiopia

This article sets out framework for measures which have been taken by the Government of Ethiopia to optimize tax services in Ethiopia.A set of measures among others which potentially influence taxpayer services such as legislation changes,information technology modernization,introducing compliance risk management and standard taxpayers’services are explicitly discussed.

Impact of taxes on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:Evidence from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD)countries

Multiple ecological and socioeconomic problems have occurred worldwide,raising the awareness of sustainability.This study aims to examine the impact of taxes on Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)in the context of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD)countries.This research used effective average tax(EAT),tax on personal income(TPI),tax on corporate profits(TCP),and tax on goods and services(TGS)as the variables of taxes,and employed secondary data from 38 OECD countries covering 2000–2021.The study also used Breusch-Pagan Lagrange Multiplier(LM),Pesaran Scaled LM,Bias-Corrected Scaled LM,and Pesaran Cross-sectional dependence(CSD)tests to analyze the existence of crosssectional dependency.Then,we established the stationarity of variables through second-generation panel unit root tests(Cross-sectional Augmented Dickey-Fuller(CADF)and Cross-sectional Im,Pesaran,and Shin(CIPS)),and confirmed the long-run cointegration of the variables by using secondgeneration panel cointegration test(Westerlund cointegration test).The results showed that EAT,TPI,TCP,and TGS are positively associated with SDGs.However,the change in TPI has a smaller effect on SDGs than the change in EAT or TCP or TGS.The result of panel causality indicated that EAT,TPI,and TGS have a unidirectional causal relationship with SDGs.The study also found that TCP has a bi-directional causal relationship with SDGs.Moreover,the finding indicated that the OECD countries need to focus on tax policies to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.This study is based on the theory of optimal taxation(TOT),which suggests that tax systems should be designed to maximize social welfare.Finally,we suggests the importance of taking a comprehensive approach for the managers and policy-makers when analyzing the impact of taxes on SDGs.

Research on Optimizing the Tax Business Environment - Taking Shunde Taxation Bureau's Innovation Reform as an Example

Since 2013,optimizing the business environment has become China's national strategy.In recent years,the Party and the government have continuously introduced a series of new measures such as the'"streamline administration,delegate power,strengthen regulation,and improve services55 reform to promote the continuous optimization of the business environment.As an important part of the business environment,the tax business environment is of great significance to improve the business environment and promote economic development.By analyzing the current situation of the tax business environment in China,this article discusses the existing problems in the process of optimizing tax business environment in China.Taking Shunde Taxation Bureau's innovative reform of tax business environment optimization as an example,this article introduces the practical innovation and promotion of optimizing tax business environment from four aspects:promoting convenience,digitalization,legalization,and intensive reform,in order to provide relevant experience for the optimization of tax business environment in other areas of China.

Sustaining Economic Growth Through Customer-Oriented Taxpayer Services Reform in Indonesia

Maintaining economic growth is a challenging undertaking.A nation requires numerous resources to keep its economy running and growing.In Indonesia,taxes continue to be the major contributor to the budget.Indonesia’s tax authority must collect taxes and duties owed in line with the law and in a manner that maintains confidence in the tax system and its administrations in order to keep the economy afloat.Thus,it is vital to devise a plan to prevent revenue loss.This article aims to evaluate the efforts of Indonesia’s tax authority to improve tax services as an investment and trade promotion strategy,as well as to improve tax compliance among taxpayers.This article will detail the efforts taken by the Directorate General of Taxes(DGT)to reform tax services,and the current work and future outlook of DGT’s tax services reform.

Insights on Crypto Asset Tax Reporting and Tokenisation of Real-World Assets

To keep pace with the development of the crypto industry due to its sheer size and complex business models,the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD)introduced the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework(CARF)to enhance transparency in relevant transactions.It is envisaged that the introduction of CARF will facilitate the exchange of information and potentially lead to increase in tax revenues for those jurisdictions enacting such requirements in due course.In turn,industry players will need to assess the implications this will have in their business from reporting readiness and implementation perspectives.Meanwhile,the tokenisation of real-world assets(RWAs)is gaining momentum.The legal and tax implications that may arise from this latest development can be complex and uncertain.

Serving High-Level Opening up with "TaxExpress"

Over the past decade,the Chinese tax authorities have been actively supporting the development of the Belt and Road Initiative,by creating a unique cross-border tax and fee service model with Chinese characteristics,which has laid a solid foundation for the establishment of the"TaxExpress"cross-border service brand.In October 2023,the State Taxation Administration of China(STA)officially launched the"TaxExpress"brand,focusing on one service matrix,two service teams,three service mechanisms,and four knowledge products.The brand aims to enhance cooperation between ministries and commissions,promote international exchanges,and establish a framework for effective cross-border tax and fee services.Moving forward,the STA will continue to leverage existing resources to support high-level opening up,by enhancing brand value,improving measures for international tax and fee services,expanding cross-border tax and fee services,strengthening professional talent teams,so as to develop a cross-border tax and fee service system that combines Chinese characteristics with international best practices.

Tax-Scheduler:An interactive visualization system for staff shifting and scheduling at tax authorities

Given a large number of applications and complex processing procedures,how to efficiently shift and schedule tax officers to provide good services to taxpayers is now receiving more attention from tax authorities.The availability of historical application data makes it possible for tax managers to shift and schedule staff with data support,but it is unclear how to properly leverage the historical data.To investigate the problem,this study adopts a user-centered design approach.We first collect user requirements by conducting interviews with tax managers and characterize their requirements of shifting and scheduling into time series prediction and resource scheduling problems.Then,we propose Tax-Scheduler,an interactive visualization system with a time-series prediction algorithm and genetic algorithm to support staff shifting and scheduling in the tax scenarios.To evaluate the effectiveness of the system and understand how non-technical tax managers react to the system with advanced algorithms and visualizations,we conduct user interviews with tax managers and distill several implications for future system design.

Human-Centricity in Tax Administration:Practice of the Federal Tax Service of Russia

In recent years,the Federal Tax Service(FTS)of Russia has been steadi-ly evolving from service-oriented to human-centric tax administration.Taxpayers,who invest in the country’s development,could not be treated as the customers in a narrow business context.One of the top priorities of the Government of the Russian Federation is to re-focus public administration from a service-oriented approach to a client-centric model,where public services are convenient and integrated into the daily lives of the citizens.The large-scale changes require transformation of organizational culture in the tax administration.The commitment of the FTS leadership is the key to the transformation.

Enhance Interaction Between Taxpayers and Tax Administrations to Serve Modern Tax Governance

The State Taxation Administration of China(STA)has strengthened interaction between taxpayers and tax administrations by collecting and classifying taxpayers’needs,responding to common and individual demands in all aspects,as well as evaluating and improving the effectiveness of interaction.This article briefly introduces the initiatives,achievements and related experience of the Chinese tax authorities in strengthening interaction between taxpayers and tax administrations in recent years.

Moving from Vision to Action: Case of Shenzhen Tax Service

Local tax services of the State Taxation Administration of China(STA),as direct service providers to taxpayers and fee-payers,can contribute to the cooperation of China with other Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)jurisdictions under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Mechanism(BRITACOM).Guided by the STA,Shenzhen Tax Service(STS)is actively engaging in the development of the BRITACOM in an effort to achieve its vision,i.e.,building a growth-friendly tax environment.The STS aims to establish a win-win cooperation mechanism that could serve as a model among other local services.This article focuses on three major issues,i.e.,the significance,the actions and achievements as well as the future prospects of the STS to facilitate the long-term growth of the BRITACOM.

Quality Tax Service and Management Ensures China's Economic Development and Victory over COVID-19

1.Introduction In recent years,the Chinese tax authority hascontinued to deepen the reform of"stream-lining administration,delegating powers,i mprovig regulation and upgrading services",improve tax-related business environment,and constantly rolled out new and optimized measures to facilitate tax processing,and provided taxpayers with high-quality,efficient,convenient and smart tax services.

Recent Developments of Tax Administration in the Republic of Tajikistan

The Tax Committee under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan(Tax Committee)regularly improves tax administration and provides quality services to legal entities,individual entrepreneurs,individuals,civil servants,government agencies and the banking sectors.Up to now,more than 60 kinds of electronic services could be accessed by taxpayers on the official website of the Tax Committee,which greatly facilitates the digitalization of tax administration and contributes to the reduction of compliance burden of taxpayers.The government has adopted and revised Tax Codes to simplify tax system,strengthen tax administration,and optimize overall tax environment.Moreover,the Tax Committee has implemented a new Tax Administration Development Program for 2020-2025 to improve the quality of activities of tax authorities,and enhance the service for taxpayers.A number of online trainings,including those initiated by the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Mechanism(BRITACOM),are held to improve the qualification,knowledge and skills of employees of the tax authorities in the country.