IOTA Digital Workshop 'Developments in the Field of Large Taxpayers' Service'

Tax administrations are following different approaches to interact with large taxpayers, reflecting the differences in the notion of large taxpayers and their population among countries. The variety in operations also reflects differences in the organisation of tax administrations across tax administrations. This digital event featured speakers from the IOTA member tax administrations of Croatia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The main purpose of the Workshop was to provide an opportunity for IOTA members to share their experiences on certain issues affecting the structure and the format of Large Taxpayer’s offices, while also identifying and deepening their understanding of the following topics:

• Tax administration examples’ of how the organisational structure and the categorisation of large taxpayers are performed.
• Training and skills of Large Taxpayer Office employees i.e. auditors, and call-center staff, who are dedicated to large taxpayers.
• Discussing ways of monitoring the quality of services delivered to large taxpayers, and how to receive feedback from them regarding taxpayers' satisfaction.
• Cooperation compliance programs and their implementation in some IOTA tax administrations

During the first day of the Workshop, speakers discussed the organisational and structural issues related to Large Taxpayer Offices. They talked about how large taxpayers are categorised, the necessary skills for the staff, and the required training, both for new employees and ongoing. They also looked at how the audit function is structured and carried out. Representatives from various IOTA member countries shared their insights on the topic:

• Spain: “Organisational structure for Tax control of the Spanish Large Taxpayers Office” presented by Elena Manrique;
• Croatia: “Large Taxpayer Office's organisational structure and the method of categorisation of Large Taxpayers” co-presented by Marina Galic & Marija Pocrnić;
• France: “Presentation of the support systems set up by the DGFiP for large companies” presented by Candice Jalton;
• Hungary: “Why is the work of referees at Large Taxpayers’ Tax and Customs Directorate important?” presented by Martina Bartha-Gyurkó

On the second day, the focus was on receiving feedback from large taxpayers about the services provided and monitoring their quality. The discussions included whether having a dialogue with large businesses would be deemed as beneficiary and existing cooperative compliance programs which may increase tax certainty and compliance. Representatives from the following IOTA member countries covered this subject:

• Poland:
• “Individual interpretations as an instrument of communication with Large Taxpayers and cooperation within the Cooperation Programme – legislation analysis and practical use.” presented by Aleksandra Sobiech
• “Cooperative Compliance Programme in Poland” presented by Beata Wiechowska;
• United Kingdom: “HMRC’s approach to monitoring LB performance and engagement with external stakeholders” co-presented by Leanne Shaw & Ryan Bassett;
• Denmark: “Cooperative compliance program in Denmark” presented by Niels Engberg

The Workshop was very interactive and featured a combination of presentations, group discussion sessions, and Q&A sessions. After each plenary session, there was a group discussion where participants shared their experiences in the way the Large Taxpayers’ Offices were structured in their own tax administrations and their views on communication and interaction with large businesses.

All the Workshop materials and presentations are now available on the event's webpage while the event recording will be provided soon. The event was facilitated by IOTA International Taxation Expert Alexandros Roukalis, with support from his colleague, Jonathan Heath.