OECD TAX AND DEVELOPMENT DAYS

16 FEBRUARY 2022 – TIME 13:45 / 14:45

ROOM 1 - SESSION 2

TAXPAYER EDUCATION: A KEY TOOL TO INCREASE

VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE
 Poll Question
ENG: According to you,
which of the following is
the primary objective of
taxpayer education
initiatives ?
FR: Selon vous, quel est le
principal objectif des
initiatives en matière
d’éducation des
contribuables ?
SP: ¿En su opinión, cuál
de los siguientes es el
objetivo principal de las
iniciativas de educación al
contribuyente ?
• a) Raising awareness of taxpayers on their tax rights and obligations
• b) Teaching citizens about the role and place of taxation in society as a whole
• c) Assisting taxpayers in fulfilling their tax compliance obligations
• a) Sensibiliser les contribuables sur leurs droits et obligations en matière fiscale
• b) Éduquer les citoyens sur le rôle et la place de l’impôt dans la société
• c) Assister les contribuables dans l’accomplissement de leurs obligations fiscales
• a) Educar a los contribuyentes sobre sus derechos y obligaciones en materia
tributaria
• b) Educar a los ciudadanos sobre el papel y el lugar de los impuestos en la
sociedad
• c) Asistir a los contribuyentes en el cumplimiento de sus obligaciones tributarias
Taxpayer Education: an essential part of Tax
Morale

OECD has been looking at taxpayer

education as part of the work on
tax morale which aims to better
understand what motivates
taxpayers to want to pay tax.
Background

New report Building Tax Culture,

Compliance and Citizenship aims
to help tax revenue authorities and
other stakeholders in designing and
implementing taxpayer education
initiatives.
A new unique dataset : 140 taxpayer education
initiatives deployed in 59 countries
Variety of approaches to taxpayer education
 Typology of taxpayer education initiatives

• Teaching Tax (44% of all initiatives)

– Students
– Businesses
– Individuals
• Communicating Tax (36%)
– Information campaigns
– Building a positive relationship
– Tailored messages
• Assisting with Tax (20%)
– Using tools and services
– Providing direct assistance
 Teaching tax

The most obvious approach, using more traditional teaching methods.

• Objective is usually to engage in more complex discussion, either on

the role of the tax system, or the technicalities of specific parts
of the tax system.

• Requires more extended engagement with taxpayers (or future

taxpayers as there are lots of programmes with children/students).

• Can be very resource intensive.

 Communicating tax to raise awareness

This works at a higher level

• Focused on shorter engagement that plants the seed to
engage on tax issues, or to nudge behaviour.
• Many initiatives here look to help strengthen the
relationship between taxpayers and tax administration,
making the tax administration less scary/more
approachable.
 Assisting with tax

Learning by doing
• As we’ve found with our Tax Inspectors Without Borders initiative,
learning by doing is a valuable tool.

• Approaches in this category work with taxpayers and guide them

through the practicalities of paying taxes, especially where there
are new digital tools, or vulnerable groups who may otherwise
struggle to engage.
 Common challenges

• While there are differences

between the three approaches There is limited Identifying and
monitoring and reaching the target
there are a few common threads evaluation of
taxpayer education
audience is often
the biggest
programmes challenge
that come out.

• The second edition of Building Tax Timing of

Partners beyond
the tax
delivery can be
administration
Culture, Compliance and vital
are important

Citizenship identify them and

Taxpayer
offers potential solutions to education is a
long-term
project
overcome them.
 Developing new initiatives or enhancing existing
ones
A 4-phase process

1 Defining the objective

2 Checking the resources available

3 Identifying the type of initiative required, and

then

4 Tailoring the design to fit the local context

Where to find the report?
You can find the report online in:
– English
– French
– Spanish
COUNTRY PRESENTATIONS

- TOGO
- JAPAN
- SOUTH AFRICA
TAXPAYER EDUCATION
A KEY TOOL TO ENCOURAGE VOLUNTARY TAX COMPLIANCE

Presented by Ms. Falilatou ISSA

Direction for Communication and Users’ services
 SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION
I. TAXPAYER AND PUBLIC AWARENESS ON TAX COMPLIANCE

II. PEER EDUCATION PROJECT ON TAX COMPLIANCE

CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION
► The Office Togolais des Recettes (OTR) (Togo Tax Revenue) = is a merge between customs and tax
administrations including cadaster and property tax (conservation and identifiation of properties).
► The Togo tax system is a declarative self assessed one.
In this regard, one of the OTR mandates is to promote voluntary tax compliance by committing to
improve the quality of the services provided to taxpayers (reception, communication, awareness,
training, simplification of tax rules and procedures, etc.)
Creation of the Direction for Communication and Users Services (DCSU) in 2 divisions (Communication
and Taxpayer education).
► Examples of implemented initiatives:
 magazine « OTR Actu »,
 programme « Taxpayer and public awareness on Tax compliance »,
 peer education project on tax compliance.
 I TAXPAYER AND PUBLIC AWARENESS ON TAX COMPLIANCE

 Promote tax morale for these micro-entrepreneurs

Why?  Help this target to better comply with tax obligations within deadlines

Choice of target:
 Awareness campaigns: targets are chosen according to concentration of population and scope of
activities.
 Training: defaultings, new companies, SMEs with a turnover of less than 60.000 000 FCFA etc.

Actions taken on the field

 Taxpayer awareness forums in French and in local languages in Lomé and inside the country are
taking place in cooperation with opinion leaders, supporting stuctures of the informal sector (DOSI,
CGA, ANADEB, FNFI, etc.);
 Celebration of the taxpayer day;
 Women awareness forums on local markets throughout the whole country;
 Training for young people and women members of associations and trade unions;
 Training for managers of newly created businesses within the CFE (a Centre for business procedures);
 Training for SMEs and large businesses taxpayers in Lomé;
PICTURES OF SOME INITIATIVES

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I I. PUBLIC
TAXPAYER AND SENSIBILISATION
AWARENESSDE
ONPROXIMITÉ DES CONTRIBUABLES ET DU
TAX COMPLIANCE
GRAND PUBLIC SUR LE CIVISME FISCAL

RESULTS

Training of SMEs Training of new

Awareness Training of
businesses large
campaigns :
Before covid 19: businesses
2015-2019 2017-2019: 4614 2021: 1608 (MNEs)
trained businesses businesses
157 876 persons via 122 sessions. trained via 51
reached with 1097 400 businesses
During Covid 19: training sessions trained each
awareness 2020-2021: 2628
sessions. year on several
trained businesses topics
via 99 sessions
II I. SENSIBILISATION DE PROXIMITÉ DES CONTRIBUABLES ET DU
PEER EDUCATION PROJECT ON TAX
GRAND PUBLIC COMPLIANCE
SUR LE CIVISME FISCAL

Purpose of  Pass on OTR information to taxpayers and vice versa

project  Reach out all professional categories in order to promote tax compliance

 SELECTION OF PEERS TRAINERS

Target is taxpayers from professional categories that are difficult to reach by OTR. They have to:
 Be able to speak, read and write in French;
 Be fluent in at least two local languages;
 Be an opinion leader or a flawless taxpayer etc.
 ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN ON THE FIELD
Peers trainers are trained on several topics in order to train their taxpayer peers in turn and are
renewed each year.
They are trained on the latest version of the tax guide, tax and customs innovations, etc.
414 peers trainers have been trained to date.
 CONCLUSION
►These programmes allowed the formalisation of businesses active in the
informal sector, the reduction of non compliance in taxation, the
increase of the tax base and the incentive to voluntary tax compliance.
They contributed rather largely to an increase of tax revenues at the OTR
– more than 70% between 2014 and 2021.

►Our next challenge consists of keeping up the awareness campaign at

micro-entrepreneurs’ and households’ levels as their financial
contributions to the local authorities remain proportionally significant.
8201
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TAX EDUCATION IN JAPAN

Mr. Toshiyuki Kemmochi

Director, International Operations Division
National Tax Agency, Japan
NTA Tax Education
Organizational Philosophy of the National Tax Agency (NTA) of Japan

Mission To help taxpayers accurately and efficiently fulfill their tax

obligations
① Achieve fair taxation and collection of domestic taxes
Duty ② Sound development of liquor industry
③ Ensure proper administration of services by Certified Public Tax
Accountants (CPTAs)
In order for the Self-Assessment System of national taxes to function properly:
➢ Taxpayers must have a high level of understanding regarding taxation, and
➢ Taxpayers must accurately fulfill their tax responsibilities as provided by the
law.

In order to ensure a broad understanding of taxation and tax administration, the NTA will ensure cooperation
and participation from relevant ministries, agencies, and private sectors.

The NTA conducts tax education and other tax-related activities 1

to raise awareness of tax duties and payments.
Implementation Structure for Tax Education

Central Council for Promoting Tax Education

 Established on November 1, 2011.

 Members: The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications [MIC], the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [MEXT], and
the National Tax Agency.
 Main Activities: Discuss and agree on the basic policies of tax education for
the following year, and disseminate and communicate the agreed policies to all
relevant organizations.

Local Councils for Promoting Tax Education

 Established in each prefecture, city, town, village, etc. in Japan (772 councils in
total).
 Members: The Regional Taxation Bureaus, the Tax Offices, local authorities,
educational leaders, private organizations, etc.
 Main activities: Dispatch staff to schools as tax educators to teach classes
2
at the request of schools, organize tax educational activities such as essay
contests, etc.
 Promotion Structure of Tax Education" (image)
Unit of Related
Establishment organizations, etc.
Central Council
for Promoting
Tax Education ・MIC
National ・MEXT
・NTA
Level ・Japan Federation of CTPAｓ’
associations
[1 Council] NTA MIC MEXT

Local Universities, ・Board of education

government professional training ・School principal's
Prefectural [Prefecture] colleges, etc. association
・Japan Association of
Level Private Schools
Board of
Education ・Local government
[47 Councils] Taxation Local Councils Local government
(prefecture)
[Prefecture] department in charge of
Bureau for Promoting universities and special ・NTA Taxation bureau
training colleges ・NTA Tax office
Tax Education ・Private organizations, etc.
participation

Local Universities, ・Board of Education

Government professional training ・School principal’s
Cities, Towns [cities, etc.] colleges, etc. association
and Villages ・Federation of PTAs
Level ・Prefectural tax office
Board of ・Local government
Tax Education Local government (Cities, towns and
[716 Councils] Local Councils department in charge of
Office [Cities, etc] villages Tax office)
for Promoting universities and special ・NTA tax office
Tax Education participation
training colleges ・Private organizations, etc.

3
Cooperation with Private Organizations
• Organized for the purpose of “improving the work of
Certified Public Tax Accountants” and providing
CPTA’ｓ Associations guidance, liaison opportunities, and supervision to
CPTAs etc.

• Organized for the purpose of “contributing to

Corporations spreading tax knowledge” as well as “maintaining and
Associations developing a proper and fair self-assessment
system.”

Blue Return • Organized for the purpose of “contributing to the self-

assessment system and promoting small
Taxpayer’s enterprises,” mainly by sole proprietors who use the
Associations blue return system.*
*For those who maintain a certain standard of bookkeeping practice and make a correct declaration based on the
bookkeeping, there is a so-called “blue return” system where filers can receive favorable treatment in the calculation of
taxable income.

• Organized for the purpose of “cooperating in

Indirect Tax achieving smooth tax administration through
Associations acquiring knowledge about indirect taxes and
establishing a voluntary self-assessment system.”

• Organized for the purpose of “smooth payment of

Saving-for-tax various taxes by means of saving funds for tax
Associations payments.” 4
..
.
Tax Education Classes for Students
Dispatch of lecturers to schools (delivery of classes)
 Tax Education classes are taught by staff from tax-related private
organizations, national tax officials, local tax officials, and tax
accountants (CPTAs).

(Actual results for the 2019 fiscal year)

Number of lecturers Percentage of Number of
Number of
dispatched schools hosting students
schools
(People) (%) (People)
Elementary school 29,463 15,279 77.0 838,472
Junior high school 9,226 4,177 40.3 367,005

High school 3,698 1,784 35.7 231,031

University, College, etc. 1,680 850 - 88,042

Total 44,067 22,090 - 1,524,550

Recently, more non-NTA - NTA employees: 8,770 5

employees are involved. - Non-NTA employees: 35,297
Tax Seminars (Knowledge-Enhancing Activities for Teachers)
Provide information on practical examples of tax curriculum in the
field of education and inform current tax educators on updated tax
education materials and practices.

Further promote and improve tax education in school curriculums.

View of Tax Seminars

6
Tax Essay Contest
Themes of Tax Essays

Junior high school students

・Anything related to taxes
High school students
・Discuss taxes through his/her own
experiences in relation to society
・Write about tax-related news and
familiar tax topics, etc.

From May
Encourage applications from schools

September
Application deadline

November
Announcement of
winners and awards 7
Tax Essay Contest
Item Junior high schools
Year Number of
Number of applications
schools
2019 7,464 578,204
2020 4,877 313,725
2021 6,482 450,142
Item High schools
Year Number of
Number of applications
schools
2019 1,818 214,421
2020 1,381 160,184
2021 1,563 178,807

8
THANK YOU
MERCI BEAUCOUP
 Dr Rebone Gcabo
Head: Taxpayer and Trader Education and
Knowledge Management
SARS
2022.02.10
Our Vision

35
Our Mandate

SARS DERIVES ITS MANDATE

FROM THE SARS ACT CLARITY OF PURPOSE
(No. 34 of 1997)
Whilst our Mandate is to:

To make provision for the • Collect all revenues due

efficient and effective
administration of the revenue
collecting system of South
Africa.
The following Acts are examples of the
primary legislation SARS administers:
• Income Tax Act, 1962
• Customs and Excise Act, 1964
• Value-Added Tax Act, 1991
• Tax Administration Act, 2011
• Ensure optimal compliance with tax
and customs legislation
• Provide a customs service to
optimize revenue, border protection
& facilitate legitimate trade
SARS exists to serve the Higher Purpose
of:
• Enabling Government to Build a
Capable State that Fosters
Sustainable Economic Growth &
Social Development that Serves the
Wellbeing of All South Africans

• Employment Tax Incentives Act,

2013

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Vision – Education
Vision for Education
To advance clarity and certainty of tax and trader obligation through education as such,
Improving the taxpayer experience through burden reduction efforts throughout taxpayer and
trader services resulting in improved compliance and revenue realization

What does this mean?

1. Data driven, evidence-based education needs by segment and product

2. Strong focus on Education related research and Analysis in order to continuously improve education
content informed by evidence
3. Clear and easy to understand education content based on based on Behavioral Insights principles of
behavioral change
4. Fully digitalized education program
5. Easily accessible education content based informed by respective segments and products
6. Timeliness and relevance of the education content;
7. Strong partnership and alignment internally with relevant division of respective clusters and external
organizations or bodies
8. Monitoring and evaluation part of the education value chain

37
Tailored Education Workshop
Types of tailored interventions offered by SARS

• Inhouse workshop - where taxpayers are invited through text messages and
the quarterly published schedules on the SARS website

• Offsite/External workshop - On the premises of the stakeholder/industry, based

on the requirements specified and in line with COVID 19 regulations

• Webinars – advertised on YouTube and other social medias to targeted tax

population on a specific tax topic

• School Education Program - A cradle to grave fiscal and financial education

program

• Self Help Kiosks - SARS has introduced 34 kiosks to the public to assist
Taxpayers to easily and at no cost comply with their tax obligations. The
purpose of having the Kiosk functionality is to reduce service queues from the
service channel.

• Mobile tax Units

38
Tailored Education Workshop Tailored programs by product
and segment:
• Turnover tax
• VAT
Schools & Community Program: • Provisional tax
• Tax morality programme • Companies Income tax
• Curriculum related program • Other Taxes e.g. trusts
• Life skills
Tertiary Education:
• Tax registration process and
their obligation
Companies

Youth
(future
C
Tailored Education
programme
Government
taxpayers)

NGOs, PBO and

Intermediaries

Tailored Program: Tailored programs by product

• Tax Exemption process
• Changes to all tax types
• Radio Interview programs
 Targeted Approach on Economic Sectors. and segment :
• PAYE
 Expanding the Education Reach.
• VAT
 Intensifying Publicity and Marketing. • SITE
 Consolidate new Stakeholders
 Monitoring compliance.

39
SARS Mobile Tax Units (MTU’s)

• In line with the modernisation agenda, we are deploying the MTU’s in outlying
and rural areas where there are no SARS Branches. This is to align the regional
activities aligned with SARS Strategic Objective (SO2) –

“Make it Easy for Taxpayers and Traders to comply and fulfil their obligations”.

• We align our service approach of multi-channel offerings that deliver consistent

quality service, empowering taxpayers to select their most efficient

• Service options at their leisure by migrating them to digital channels, i.e. SARS
eFiling, SARS MobiApp, SARS Online Query System ‘SOQS’.

Purpose of initiatives includes :

I. Educate and provide clarity on tax obligation;

II. Assist and encourage taxpayers to migrate to various digital platforms and
encourage voluntary tax compliance; and
III. Raising public awareness about SARS work;

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Webinars conducted

Number of subscribers

+ 1,157

Number of views to date

10

39,634

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Financial support comes from the following donors

For more information on this session,

contact: TaxandDevelopment@oecd.org.