An account of what you missed

In my nearly 40 years working in the field of tax administration, one thing appears to be always present. Change. And change is good. And it is constant. Why? Because it’s part of an evolutionary process for the better.

And that was the theme of our recently concluded 2014 Technical Conference in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain; “The optimization of resources and processes of the Tax Administrations.”

For sure there must be some metaphor between tax administrators’ journey to Galicia and the centuries old pilgrimage to the Cathedral of the Apostle Santiago de Compostela. In modern times some consider the pilgrimage as a retreat of those seeking spiritual growth. That may be what we all attained in our four days in Santiago; knowledge of better ways of doing business.

It possibly would be a bit drabby for me to fill this blog with lengthy details of each Conference session. While they were all interesting, some have etched themselves into my memory bank. Thanks to Twitter and Facebook we posted ongoing news items on the week’s events – please visit Hashtag #CiatEvents for more information.

As far as attendance, we had representatives from all the continents except Antarctica. As standouts, we had several Commissioners and Director Generals as well as the Executive Secretaries of ATAF and IOTA. I was able to make new acquaintances and renew conversations with some of the old. As for the hosts, you cannot find a better organized crew. Everything planned and synchronized down to the last beat. Traditionally, the Spanish hospitality has been first-rate and Santiago was no exception. Now, if they can only make it rain a bit less.

The “change” agent was present in many of the presentations. ATAF Executive Secretary Logan Wort briefed us on the tax reforms taking place on the African continent. A number of tax officials spoke on their reform efforts with particular attention in the area of Human Resources. Of particular note were comments by Ms. Jolanda Denis from The Netherlands and the fact that their Human Resources reform improved overall department performance. Mr. Xavier Menette from France spoke on their reforms and how the labor unions were involved in the process. In summary, all are being asked to do more with less and Human Resources reforms contain difficult decisions since they, in one way or another, impact staff.

There were also some interesting presentations addressing the “Compensation and incentive models linked to achievement of goals and objectives.”

We had an opportunity to present the Revenue Administration’s Fiscal Information Tool (R/A-FIT), an automated tax revenue data gathering application that was developed by the International Monetary Fund and which CIAT, IOTA and OECD has collaborated on.

Wednesday afternoon there was a Round Table discussion Moderated by CIAT Executive Secretary Márcio F. Verdi with Representatives from Argentina, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Italy, and Spain. The topic was “The Tax Administrations of the XXI century: Optimization and quality of their processes.” There was a very interesting exchange by the Representatives regarding in what direction they saw tax administrations moving in the future. Of course, taxation of multinationals and topics related to the 15 BEPS action plan items were addressed, as was the role of technology – both from a tax administration use perspective and stakeholders. In essence, technology may be the “reset button” of the future, in every which way. We may completely have to rethink how we do business in the new age.

Then I put this all together and thought a bit about our Rio 2014 General Assembly this past May whose theme was “The use of information and communication technologies in the tax administration.” And for sure you must be thinking “And…? What does one have to do with the other?”

Let me segue a bit from the tax subject and focus on an event that went somewhat unnoticed this past May. Have you ever heard of “Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS)?” Wait! Don’t close your browser yet. Let me explain the relationship that all of these “common” elements have and were etched into my memory bank. I’m sure that by now you must be wondering if this writer has blown a chip. But the issue is related to reforms in the tax administrations, technology and Human Resources.

A frequent phrase used by presenters in Santiago was “doing more with less.” This was accomplished in several ways. Technology played a role in many. These changes also required looking at what new “skill sets” were necessary for future tax personnel. Something we all need to ponder on. Consequently, technology may support the replacement of the human contact.

Now back to LAWS. A little noticed United Nations conference took place in Geneva in mid May of this year. It was a meeting of experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems and the primary purpose was to discuss and attempt to ensure that the human factor was always prevalent in LAWS; think ROBOCOP gone wacky (http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/6CE049BE22EC75A2C1257C8D00513E26?OpenDocument). What makes me ponder on this concept is, to what extent do we automate in the tax department and still retain the human factor? I don’t have the answer. What came to mind was the movie “The Fugitive” where Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) tells Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones), “I didn’t kill my wife!” and Gerard’s reply was, “I don’t care!” And with that in mind, will our automated tax systems take into account the human factor or will they be a Mr. Gerard? “I don’t care!”

With all the automation pressed upon us, do you think that we will ever de-humanize tax administration? Don’t answer that! It was a rhetorical question. Some taxpayers may say, “Oh, so you guys are really human! Ah? Had me fooled!”

It will be a sorry day for all of us when we eliminate the human factor in tax administration. That’s why to me human resources will always be the principal asset for any tax administration.

Well, I do care and that’s why for me, if you weren’t there, it’s a pleasure to fill you in on what transpired during our recent week in Santiago de Compostela and taking advantage of your good time to mention how I perceive some things. For more details on particular presentations visit our Web site and download the relevant documents, https://www.ciat.org/event/ciat-technical-conference-2014/?lang=en

Thank you for your time and attention.

All the best to all!

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