Tax Administration 2015 is the sixth edition of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration’s biennial Comparative Information Series. The series’ primary purpose is to share information that will facilitate dialogue among tax officials on important tax administration issues, and which may also identify opportunities for ministries of finance and revenue bodies to improve the design and administration of their tax systems.

Tax Administration 2015 presents a broad view of tax system administration in 56 countries, drawing attention to many developments and trends in design, management, and performance.

The information provided in this edition has been obtained from a survey of revenue bodies in countries covered by the series that was conducted in 2014, and from research of revenue bodies’ key corporate documents (e.g. strategic plans and annual performance reports), other OECD tax publications and other sources, conducted by officials of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. Every effort has been made with officials of relevant revenue bodies to validate the information displayed in the series and to note the sources of information used. On advice from a small number of countries, steps have also been taken to correct previously-published data to correct detected errors and/or fill gaps in time series and trend information.

This chapter provides details of the institutional arrangements put in place by governments to conduct national tax administration operations in the 56 countries covered by the series. Topics specifically discussed in some detail include the extent of revenue body autonomy, the collection of social security contributions, the practice of giving revenue bodies “non-tax” related roles, special governance arrangements for tax administration, and the establishment of independent bodies to deal with taxpayers’ complaints.

This chapter describes aspects of the organisational arrangements of surveyed revenue bodies, and includes a fairly comprehensive summary of recent and planned reforms to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of tax system administration. It also includes a brief outline of organisational and operational arrangements put in place to manage large corporate taxpayers and high net worth individuals.

This chapter describes key aspects of revenue bodies’ practices for the preparation and publication of strategic plans, and the use of targets and service standards in tax administration. It selectively draws on a sample of revenue bodies’ strategic plans covering the medium term out to 2018 to highlight goals, priorities, and key strategies. It concludes with a section on strategic approaches for improving taxpayers’ compliance, including a snapshot of work undertaken by the Forum on Tax Administration, and revenue body practice concerning the use of risk management techniques, tax gap research and the random audits programmes.

This chapter outlines aspects of revenue bodies’ approaches to human resources management (HRM), including overall strategy, recruitment and appointment and related autonomy, measuring staff engagement, staff development, and performance management and remuneration. It provides examples of specific approaches and initiatives being deployed by revenue bodies to improve overall organisational performance and staff well-being. It concludes with a section on selected staff metrics (e.g. age profiles and qualifications).

This chapter provides summary operational and trend-related data (for some data items for up to nine years) and related analyses concerning the resources used for tax administration in surveyed revenue bodies and, where applicable, other revenue body roles. It also includes some brief comments concerning the use of third parties to provide critical services and support to revenue bodies for the administration of tax laws.

This chapter provides a comparative overview of reported operational data and related ratios and their trend concerning the performance of surveyed revenue bodies. The main subject areas covered are: (1) revenue collections; (2) tax refunds; (3) taxpayer services; (4) verification activities; (5) dispute resolution; and (6) the collection of unpaid tax debts.

This chapter provides an overview of developments with, and plans for, the use of modern online services in tax administration, along with performance and trendrelated information on taxpayers’ take-up of revenue bodies’ e-filing and e-payment capabilities.

This chapter outlines aspects concerned with revenue bodies’ administration of tax intermediaries, and provides examples of specific approaches and initiatives used by revenue bodies to leverage improvements to taxpayers’ compliance and the general functioning on the tax system.

This chapter provides an overview of the legislated administrative frameworks for the conduct of tax administration in surveyed countries, including matters such as: (1) taxpayers’ rights and obligations; (2) access to rulings; (3) taxpayer registration and identification systems; (4) withholding and third party information reporting regimes; (5) return filing and payment regimes; (6) administrative review; (7) enforced collection of unpaid taxes; (8) information and access powers; and (9) tax offences (including use of voluntary disclosure policies and approaches). A number of selected country examples are also included to elaborate particular recommended approaches and/or describe recent developments.