Building Tax culture, compliance and citizenship a global source book on taxpayer education

Building Tax culture, compliance and citizenshipa global source book on taxpayer education

Structure • Backgroundand context: • The OECD and the Task Force on Tax and Development? • Whydoes the OECD work on taxpayereducation? • The global source book on taxpayereducation: • Content • Lessonslearnt

1. Background and context: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) = promote public policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. = forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems, e.g. peer review mechanisms. set international standards on a wide range of issues, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals.

1. Background and context: The OECD Task Force on Tax and Development • Creation: 2010 • Flexible membership from OECD countries; developing countries; international and regional organisations; civil society; business • Objective is to create an enhanced enabling environment to assist developing countries collect taxes effectively and fairly. • Bi-annual workplan proposed by the Task Force and agreed by OECD committees, including work on state-building, taxation and capacity building

1. Background and context: WhyTax and Development? = Many Countries will not Raise the Tax Needed to Meet the Millennium Development Goals Some countries (including half of sub Saharan Africa countries) raise less than 17% of GDP in tax revenues, the minimum level considered by the UN as necessary to achieve the MDGs.

1. Background and context: 2012 OECD report « What drives tax morale? » • Examines the attitudes and perceptions of citizens in developed and developing countries to taxation and tax evasion • Based on World Values Survey, Afrobarometer, Asiabarometer and Latinobarometrodata • Attitudes towards taxation are shaped by factors beyond enforcement and the probability of being caught for tax evasion. • Socio-economic factors (education, gender, income, employment, age, and religious beliefs) influence tax morale. • Institutional factors, such as trust in government and satisfaction with public services and the functioning of democracy • Link between Tax Morale and tax compliance Task Force requested to compile and disseminate effective practices in taxpayer education leading to the preparation of a source book

2. Global Source Book on Taxpayer Education Content • 28 different innovative country approaches to taxpayer education : • 5 – page chapters including objectives of programme, focus on specific initiative, impact, lessons learnt.

2. Global Source Book on Taxpayer Education Content • Taxpayer education to: • Strengthen the state-citizen relationship • Address the informal sector • Promote voluntary compliance and social cohesion • Leading to a transformation of the tax authorities and linking tax compliance to citizenship and values of cohesive democratic societies • 2013 OECD study on « Aid Modalities for Strengthening Tax Systems » confirms taxpayer education as an effective mechanism to rebuild trust and stimulate citizen participaiotn in the public debate.

2. Global Source Book on Taxpayer Education a range of themes • Raising awareness and making life easier: • Raise public’s awareness of new tax laws and methods of filing, to answer the public’s inquiries and to make life easier for taxpayers. e.g. Lebanon, Zambia, South Africa, Korea • Tackling the informal sector: • Broadening the tax base to reduce informality and non-payment of tax. e.g. persuade small traders to register for value added tax (Burundi) or get into the habit of asking for official receipts • Reaching the next generation; • Insertion of taxpayer educaiton in school and university curricula. e.g. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Morocco, Mexico, Brasil

2. Global Source Book on Taxpayer Education a range of approaches • Tax in cyberspace • Resource optimisation through ICT use. e.g. El Salvador, Chile, Uruguay • Tax at the games room and on TV • tax can be explained through interactive play spaces, theatre, video games, and soap operas on television . E.g. Malaysia, Nigeria • Celebrating tax: tax days and festivals • Bangladesh celebrates National Income Tax Day • Guatemala’s annual citizen culture festival “Strength Lies in Numbers” • Rwanda’s Taxpayer’s Day

2. Global Source Book on Taxpayer Education Keys to success? • Solid partnerships - domestically, regionally and even internationally: • long-term, sustainable cultural change requires building solid alliances with the education sector , on condition of identification of common goals. • In Latin America alone, nine countries have included tax education in their school syllabi • Other useful partners can be business and civil society (Jamaica, Rwanda, Brasil) • Tax Champions - High-level political commitment and participation • Promote cross-country learning – ATAF , CIAT, IOTA

2. Global Source Book on Taxpayer Education Obstacles and Challenges for the future? • Limited time, financial and human resources • ICT’s might bring new sorts of problems: • Nobody else will provide taxpayer education • Little ‘hard’ evidence of success or impact evaluations, how to measure behavioural change? • What is the role for development co-operation? • How to make revenue-expenditure linkages ‘concrete’?

2. Global Source Book on Taxpayer Education Some examples • South Africa – Mobile Tax Units • Mozambique – Annual campaign and simplified tax for small taxpayers • Rwanda _ Taxpayer day, tax advisory councils • Morocco – taxpayer education at school through theatre, media campaigns • Korea – tax classes for small businesses

Building Tax culture, compliance and citizenship a global source book on taxpayer education