The current state of the international crude oil market has had an obvious distressing impact on Nigeria’s economy.  For the first time in decades, the Federal Government is placing heavy reliance, compared to prior years, on tax revenue to fund its budget.

The revenue authorities now have a huge responsibility thrust upon them, and are left with no choice but to deploy new strategies to optimize and improve its practices.   The revenue authorities must therefore work efficiently if they are to deliver results. In this digital age, efficiency can be achieved by deploying technology in the practice of tax administration.

Technology can greatly benefit the tax authorities in their tax administration functions.  It has the capacity to enhance productivity, it can enable the tax authorities to achieve precision, facilitate speedy exchange of information and improve cost efficiency. The question then becomes how can the revenue authority tap into technology to reap these benefits?

Technology can and should ideally be used in all facets of tax administration, but particularly in the following areas:

• Data and intelligence gathering
• Data mining and analytics
• Taxpayer risk profiling/ risk-based audit
• Tax calculations and assessments
• Tax filing and payments
• Tax account management
• Taxpayer document management
• Manage tax queries and enquiries
• Communication and information sharing
• Taxpayer convenience – registration, etc.
• Tax awareness campaign

Credit: Kpmg