Handling the Tax Affairs of
IOTA Report for Tax Administrations IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities
HANDLING THE TAX AFFAIRS OF MINORITIES
IOTA Report for Tax Administrations
Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations (IOTA)
Budapest 2012 IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities
PREFACE
The interest of IOTA Membership in the topic of tax treatment of minority groups was triggered by the undoubted increase in mobility across Europe, resulting in citizens from many countries migrating, either permanently or temporarily, to other countries seeking work, education and experience – communicating to migrants is inhibited by language and often by culture and so new communication techniques are required to help them settle into their new home environment and understand their rights and responsibilities.
There are also other minority groups that often do not fit within the standard communication and taxpayer service processes, groups that cannot take advantage of the services offered, through lack of mobility, lack of IT skills, age, ill health, imprisonment, etc. Channel strategies usually aim for simplification and cost effectiveness of communication for the majority of citizens – but how do we reach those who do not fit into the standard pattern?
The IOTA Area Group “Taxpayer Education and Services” recognised some time ago that there was considerable interest in how taxpayer services are delivered to minority groups in society. In February 2009, the Area Group established a Task Team to gather information on how minorities are handled within IOTA tax administrations, with the aim of producing a report and, thus, sharing new ideas and good practice.
Twenty five IOTA Member tax administrations responded to a questionnaire on the subject and this report aims at examining what countries mean by “minorities”, legal requirements and regulations relating to communication and services for minorities, channel strategies, specific policies and procedures implemented in relation to different target groups, e.g. immigrants, disabled, IT-illiterate, etc., summarises the findings from the responses received and makes recommendations on possible common solutions and ways to improve tax treatment of minorities.
We would like to thank all the participants who took part in completing the questionnaire, both for the time they gave to collect valuable information and for the openness with which they shared their practice. We would also like to thank the Task Team, in particular, Mr. Carlos Six from Belgium, Ms. Jane Christensen from Denmark, Ms. Tünde Égerházi from Hungary, Ms. Lise Halvorsen from Norway, Mr. Kay Kojer from Sweden and Ms. Victoria Goverdovskaya from Ukraine, for their help, input and advice throughout the preparation of this report.
The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of IOTA.
Budapest, 2012 Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction...... 5
2. The Scope of Minorities ...... 6 2.1. How to define a minority? ...... 6 2.2. The Constitution and the fundamental rights ...... 6 2.2.1. The Constitution ...... 6 2.2.2. Freedom of the individual and physical freedom...... 6 2.2.3. Right to equality ...... 7 2.3. What about minorities?...... 7 2.4. Scope of minorities in this report ...... 8 2.4.1. Problems with the official languages ...... 8 2.4.2. Different ethnical background...... 9 2.4.3. Disabilities ...... 10 2.4.4. Cross-border workers...... 11 2.4.5. Computer illiteracy...... 11 3. Legislation Relating to Communication and Services for Minorities ...... 14 3.1. EU and UN legal instruments ...... 14 3.1.1. Protection of rights of people with disabilities in EU ...... 14 3.1.2. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities...... 15 3.2. National legal acts ...... 15 3.3. National legal acts regulating national minorities and national minority languages ...... 18 3.3.1. National minorities ...... 18 3.3.2. National minority languages ...... 19 3.3.3. International Labour Organization ...... 20 3.4. Agreements between neighboring countries on cross-border workers ...... 20 4. Strategies and Measures about Communication and Services towards Minorities ...... 21 4.1. Communication strategy in general ...... 21 4.2. Communication strategies in IOTA tax administrations ...... 21 5. Specific Policies and Targeted Actions to Communicate to and/or Assist Certain Categories of Minority Groups ...... 24 5.1. Taxpayers who have problems with understanding the official language(s) .... 26 5.1.1. Introduction...... 26 5.1.2. Countries providing information on national tax websites in different languages...... 26 5.1.3. Countries developing forms and documents in different languages...... 28 IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities
5.1.4. Countries using contact centres and call centres to deliver services to taxpayers who do not speak the official language(s) ...... 29 5.2. Taxpayers with a different ethical background ...... 29 5.3. Disabled people (blind and partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing, housebound) ...... 31 5.3.1. Accessibility to the tax administrations’ websites ...... 31 5.3.2. Deaf, hard of hearing or have speech impairment ...... 32 5.3.3. Blind or partially sighted ...... 33 5.3.4. Home visiting ...... 33 5.4. People of extreme age and those who are residents of care homes or in a long term hospital/hospice care ...... 34 5.5. Cross-border workers ...... 34 5.6. Prisoners ...... 35 5.7. IT illiterate people ...... 36 6. Specific Tools Tax Administrations Use to Communicate with Minority Groups 37 6.1. Translated materials, brochures etc. (languages) ...... 37 6.2. Translated websites (languages, disabilities) ...... 37 6.3. Group meetings / education...... 37 6.4. Field working...... 37 6.5. Service centres / contact points ...... 37 6.6. Direct communication (letters, mails, etc.) ...... 38 7. Ways and Methods of Identifying Persons Belonging to Minority Groups...... 40 7.1. Approaches for identifying minority groups ...... 40 7.2. Examples of country approaches...... 40 8. Organisational Policies regarding Service Provision to Minority Groups...... 42
9. Ongoing and Future Initiatives to Assist Minorities ...... 44 9.1. Websites and translations...... 44 9.2. e-Services ...... 44 9.3. Accessibility to premises ...... 45 10. The Way Forward… ...... 47 10.1. Social media ...... 47 10.2. Apps and electronic signatures...... 47 11. Conclusions...... 50
12. References and Links to Annexes...... 52 12.1. References ...... 52 12.2. Links to Annexes ...... 52
IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities
1. INTRODUCTION
All the IOTA Members recognise the importance of increasing understanding diversity in taxpayer community and key factors affecting taxpayers’ engagement with the tax administration.
The IOTA Task Team considered different approaches adopted by IOTA tax administrations to respond to challenges of change in the demographic composition of the surrounding taxpayer community.
What do we mean by “minorities”? How communication and services for minorities are regulated by the national as well as EU legislation? Have IOTA tax administrations adopted specific strategies, policies or procedures to communicate and assist minority groups of taxpayers? What specific tools do tax administrations use to communicate with minority groups?
This report has been prepared by a Task Team comprised of members from the tax administrations of Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Sweden and Ukraine. The Task Team also worked closely with other IOTA tax administrations, using the information from the questionnaire.
In examining the responses to their questionnaire the Task Team members were able to identify ways of streamlining and simplifying taxpayer communication and service delivery processes, where possible.
The report can be considered as a first step. It depicts individual characteristics of minority groups, the existing practice of IOTA Members in organising communication and information activities to different groups of taxpayers, the service provision tools available within IOTA’s region.
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2. THE SCOPE OF MINORITIES
2.1. How to define a minority?
We could define a minority as a group of people that constitutes less than a numerical majority of a population. Because of their cultural, racial, ethnic, religious or other characteristics, such groups are often labelled and treated differently from others in society. They are usually considered to be less powerful than the dominant group. Since a minority group is not in charge of policy making, it is not excluded that people belonging to such a group do not find the possibility of exercising their rights. Also, when a citizen is born in a state or when he/she has chosen to live in that state, this state confers her/him a certain number of rights. Indeed, every citizen in a society has inalienable rights.
Before starting to talk about what we can define as minority groups regarding tax matters and the right to equal services from the tax administration, let’s make a quick overview of some fundamental rights of the individuals.
Fundamental rights are the rights that accrue to everyone on the territory of a state. In most states the Constitution contains the most famous rights: it is freedom of expression, the right to equality of the individual, the protection of the law and government from discrimination against religion, belief, race and gender. Fundamental rights also enclose the social rights.
2.2. The Constitution and the fundamental rights
2.2.1. The Constitution
The Constitution is the fundamental basis for all laws, the basic values of a democratic society and constitutional guarantees. In broad terms we are speaking about human dignity, equality (everyone is equal in the eye of the law), and right to life in (physical) integrity.
Fundamental rights must be differentiated from the civil rights, which can only be exercised by those who hold the nationality of a particular state. The most important civil right is suffrage.
2.2.2. Freedom of the individual and physical freedom
The concept of freedom has a broad range of application with different notions. Actually freedom is a state of intelligent life in which one can exercise his or her will to explore the universe either with mind or body. Nevertheless, to be completely free, you need to have liberty. And liberty is the quality or state of being free from any arbitrary or despotic internal (mental) or external (physical) control.
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Individual freedom means that no human has the right to violate the individual sovereignty of any other human. The right of freedom of every individual is protected by the government and he/she will reprimand it immediately when it is in danger.
You can have physical freedom (freedom of body) where you can promenade the world without any physical restraint. This means that you are physically free to move around and experience the physical world if not the universe. With the same token, you can have mental freedom (freedom of mind) in which you can meander your mind into any intellectual concept of existence without any mental restraint.
You can claim that you have liberty when you have both, physical and mental freedom. Freedom of mind is the dignity of human liberty. As we all know, freedom of mind is when you are free from any arbitrary or despotic internal or external control.
2.2.3. Right to equality
As the aforementioned freedoms do not encompass all possibilities, the legislator has given a supplement. This means not only that everyone is equal in the eye of the law, but also that the law and the government should provide all persons equal protection. a) Antidiscrimination Discrimination is prohibited against: • Religion; • Beliefs; • Political affiliation; • Race (colour); • Gender; or • On any grounds whatsoever. b) Social rights Social fundamental rights can be described as certain government guarantee, provisions to promote the development of human society. They are "assignments" to the government that can be legally enforced by the citizens. Thus, for example, the government can ensure the promotion of adequate employment for the habitability of the country and protect and improve the environment.
2.3. What about minorities?
As we take into account here the above mentioned context, we could say that a minority is a social group or category of the population that, in a larger society, is set apart and bound together by common ties of language, nationality or culture.
One can notice that enlarging, e.g., the European community, and, therefore, allowing the free travel of persons by opening the internal borders, drives a lot of people to move from one country to another. The most important drives for this
7 IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities phenomenon are the search for (better) employment, improving social welfare and trying to find opportunities.
Sometimes the degree of development of immigrating people and the difficulties to adapt to a new societal context can create new problems: insufficient knowledge of official languages and the incapacity in getting along with a different, sometimes, more exigent, national organisation. A negative consequence of such facts is that people with common origins or backgrounds try to stick together in order to find security and protection within the group, but most of the time it forces them to a status of a minority group.
Since countries need to respect in their behaviour all kinds of citizens in a similar approach, it brings them to the need to use appropriate tools to be able to organise contact with these minority groups.
Ethnic diversity, the legacy of political conquests and migrations is one aspect of the social complexity found in most contemporary societies. The nation-state has traditionally been uneasy with ethnic diversity, and nation-states have often attempted to eliminate or expel ethnic groups. Most nations today practice some form of pluralism, which usually rests on a combination of toleration, interdependence, and separatism. The concept of ethnicity is more important today than ever, as a result of the spread of doctrines of freedom, self- determination, and democracy.
It is important to notice, within the context of this report, that the word ‘minority’ refers to a group that is in a quantifiable minority compared to the majority population, or to larger national groups, and clearly indicates its will to preserve its status as a characteristic minority group.
2.4. Scope of minorities in this report
Within the scope of this minorities are considered as those who: • Have problems with the official languages; • Have a different ethnical background; • Have some kind of disability; • Are cross-border workers; • Are not IT literate; • Somehow are apart from normal society ( e.g. prisoners)
2.4.1. Problems with the official languages
Policies and organisations use and require particular languages for official business. The choice of official languages is a vexing issue. The policy designates official languages and taxes the language groups to pay for translation among the official languages. In a world with thousands of languages, the choice of official languages is a natural political issue. When governments, public bodies, firms, associations, and international organisations designate the languages that they require or permit to be used in official business, interests come into conflict. Those whose languages are not official spend years learning others' languages and may still communicate
8 IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities with difficulty, completely unequally for employment and participation, and suffer from minority.
This means that, even when a State respects it own official language(s), it still might be impossible to reach in a proper way some kinds of minority groups. An example of such situation can be found in Belgium, where a lot of Arabic speaking people are not able to deal with the official Dutch, French or German state languages. In order to announce to this group the help actions that take place every year to support them in completing their tax return, some flyers in Arabic are put at the disposal of this group. It makes it easier to this group to understand the obligation to file a tax return. Nevertheless, it created also a problem, because Arabic is not an official language in Belgium and the Minister of Finance had to explain that this initiative was not meant to be an infringement on the use of official languages in Belgium, but rather a gesture of focused communication in order to make this minority group understand the legal needs to file tax returns (See Annex 1)
In Italy the tax administration of Italy (Agenzia delle Entrate) has elaborated a multi-language guide for foreign taxpayers. It provides information about the Italian tax code, the health card and the VAT number. It also gives the various possibilities to contact the Italian tax administration.
2.4.2. Different ethnical background
Every large society contains ethnic minorities. Their style of life, language, culture and origin can differ from the majority. The minority status is conditioned not only by clearly numerical relations but also by questions of political power. A national minority can be theoretically (not legally) defined as a group of people within a given national state: 1. Which is numerically smaller than the rest of population of the State or a part of the State; 2. Which is not in a dominant position; 3. Which has culture, language, religion, race, etc. distinct from that of the rest of the population; 4. Whose members have a will to preserve their specificity; 5. Whose members are citizens of the State where they have the status of a minority; 6. Which have a long-term presence on the territory where it has lived.
An ethnic group (or ethnicity) is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture (often including a shared religion). Members of an ethnic group are conscious of belonging to an ethnic group; moreover ethnic identity is further marked by the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness.
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2.4.3. Disabilities
A disability in humans may be physical, cognitive/mental, sensory, emotional ones, developmental or some combination of these.
Impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Thus disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.
An individual may also qualify as disabled if he/she has had impairment in the past or is seen as disabled based on a personal or group standard or norm. Such impairments may include physical, sensory, and cognitive or developmental disabilities. Mental disorders (also known as psychiatric or psychosocial disability) and various types of chronic disease may also qualify as disabilities.
Some advocates object to describing certain conditions (notably deafness and autism) as "disabilities", arguing that it is more appropriate to consider them developmental differences that have been unfairly stigmatised by society.
A disability may occur during a person's lifetime or may be present from birth.
Although all people and, in particular, disabled people, have the right to be treated equally regarding tax matters, one should expect that other governmental departments, likewise the tax administration, are in first line to provide help and assistance towards the integration of disabled people into social life. Governmental institutions dealing with welfare, health and social security issues are indeed focused on how to help disabled people and ensure that they are having a normal life as other members of society. This means that a disabled taxpayer can be approached as a healthy one, but that the tax administration must take into account some specific measures regarding the access to the available tax information: these are related to facilitate physical access to building, adapting electronic information on Internet sites to the people with impaired sight, being at disposal for helping disabled people in completing tax returns, making visits in hospitals, in other words, taking all actions that allow disabled people to be treated as all other taxpayers! This means that all information should be made available without undue delay and without extra cost to the recipient. If such delay or costs would exist, this might be regarded as discrimination towards disabled persons. It is a widely accepted principle that people with disabilities should not be charged extra for services which are equivalent to those received by non-disabled people, even when the provision of such services in fact involves extra costs for the service provider.
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2.4.4. Cross-border workers
Under the EC Treaty, individuals are entitled to move freely from one EU Member State to another without experiencing discrimination as regards employment, remuneration or other conditions of work and employment. Cross-border workers are persons who work in one EU Member State but live in another.
The EC Treaty freedoms and the non-discrimination principle mean that the cross- border worker may not be discriminated in her/his State of residence, because he/she works in another Member State.
From the point of view of the State of employment, a cross-border worker falls within a broader category of non-resident workers, where non-resident means that the person has a tax residence in another State.
A very good example of how a State(s) can deal with the specific problems related to cross-border workers can be found in the Nordisk eTax portal (www.nordisketax.net), which is a portal developed as a result of collaboration between the Nordic Council of Ministers and the tax administrations of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland and dealing with taxation and social contribution matters for private individuals living in these countries.
This portal gives information also to cross-borders workers who live and/or work in one of the mentioned Nordic countries. It provides specific information about Nordic tax and social contribution agreements, because of the fact that a private individual who is domiciled in one country and has income or assets in another may be liable to render accounts and liable for taxation in both countries under the national rules of the country concerned. To avoid double taxation a country may unilaterally waive its right to tax or the countries may agree on avoiding double taxation. Such an agreement can only alleviate the assessment and can never go beyond the national legislation.
The portal allows you to choose your own language, select a subject and get information about tax treatment related to the chosen country.
The above example illustrates how countries can agree about organising and making specific and technical tax information available to those who need it while searching for better job-opportunities in another country.
2.4.5. Computer illiteracy
Nowadays, an average taxpayer should be literate in information and communication technology. The tax administration and the modern society provide a lot of information in electronic format and the use of IT in everyday life has become an absolute necessity.
It appears that the non IT-users become a shrinking minority group in society and one can expect that in the near future this problem will disappear. Anyhow, even if
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(young) people are now very much familiarised with the developments of IT technology, there will always be a need for some people to be helped in understanding how Internet and communication technologies are functioning. This can be the case for people immigrating from, e.g., developing countries or countries where the education program does not provide yet sufficient level of knowledge of using information and communication technologies in everyday life.
According to results of the research undertaken by Gartner Inc.1, the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company, who claims to deliver, worldwide, technology-related insight necessary to make the right decisions, over 3 billion of the world's adult population will be able to interact electronically via mobile or Internet technology by 2014. Emerging economies will see rapidly rising mobile and Internet adoption through 2014. At the same time, advances in mobile payment, commerce and banking are making it easier to interact electronically via mobile network or Internet. Combining these two trends creates a situation in which a significant majority of the world's adult population will be able to communicate electronically by 2014.
Gartner research predicts that by 2014, there will be a 90% mobile penetration rate and 6.5 billion mobile connections. Penetration will not be uniform, as continents like Asia (excluding Japan) will see a 68% penetration and Africa will see a 56% mobile penetration. Although not every individual with a mobile phone or Internet access will interact electronically, each will have the ability to do so. Cash transactions will remain dominant in emerging markets by 2014, but the foundation for electronic transactions will be well under way for much of the adult world.
The presented example illustrates that all people should essentially have some general knowledge of how to operate the basic facilities of electronic communication devices.
To illustrate the way how some countries make special effort in educating their citizens to become IT-competent, we can refer to the example of Belgium.
The federal government of Belgium has decided that they should do something about a lack of IT-knowledge among citizens. A special program called “Start2surf” was introduced in 2010. The project of the federal authorities was aiming to promote computerisation of the Belgian society, in particular, by reducing the digital gap.
The federal IT department, called FEDICT, is currently developing a joint e- government strategy for Belgium and supports the federal public services in implementing this strategy. As an example, FEDICT implements projects (e.g., the federal web portal) and provides services (e.g., legal consultancy on e- government). Activities of FEDICT can be grouped into the following four categories:
1 Gartner Highlights Key Predictions for IT Organizations and Users in 2010 and Beyond, January 13, 2010: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1278413
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• The basis: The principle of e-government is to exchange information between government departments. To enable this exchange, the government will invest in basic infrastructure. For example: FedMAN, the network used by public departments for data exchange. • Citizens: Citizen is the end-user of an application. For example: Tax-on- web, electronic reporting to the individual income tax. • Companies: Companies are the end-users of an application. For example: the Crossroads Bank of Enterprises, a register containing all the data of a business, and companies should, therefore, convey their data more than once. • Administration: The end-users of an application are public administrations themselves. For example: secure access for telecommuters, a solution for staff who work on the road or at home.
Different types of users can enjoy a variety of applications that are reflected in different categories, but one of the most famous Belgian campaigns is the “Start2Surf PC Bonus” – “A tax-efficient computer package for workers”. Start2Surf PC Bonus aims at providing the workers with a modest salary an opportunity to buy a PC without bearing any extra cost of purchase. To this end, the employer shall reimburse an amount up to EUR 760 (including VAT), as a tax-exempt benefit.
Terms: • Gross annual income must be up to EUR 29,900 (EUR 21,600 = indexed for tax year 2010); • The worker must first determine whether the employer is eligible to participate in the Start2Surf PC Bonus campaign and how the reimbursement of expenses will be carried out.
Procedure: 1. The employee chooses her/his own computer (computer package) and purchases it on her/his own name from a supplier of her/his choice; 2. Then the employee provides a copy of documents to her/his employer in order to prove the purchase; the employee also retains the original documents, so that h/she can possibly apply for the guarantee service; 3. The employer shall reimburse the purchase; 4. Any refund up to EUR 760 is tax-exempt (including VAT = EUR 550 indexed for tax year 2010); as these costs are not included in the payroll expenses, consequently, this amount will not be subject either to income tax nor the social contributions; 5. The reimbursement is deducted by the employer.
Some employers centralise the purchase of computers under Start2Surf PC Bonus. In this case, the employee purchases a computer (computer package) through her/his employer. The purchase documents must, however, be issued in the name of the employee.
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3. LEGISLATION RELATING TO COMMUNICATION AND SERVICES FOR MINORITIES
3.1. EU and UN legal instruments
3.1.1. Protection of rights of people with disabilities in EU
The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms2 (hereinafter - Convention) is an international treaty under which the member states of the Council of Europe promise to secure fundamental civil and political rights, not only to their own citizens but also to everyone within their jurisdiction. The Convention, which was signed on 4 November 1950 in Rome, entered into force in 1953.
Those countries which have ratified the Convention are obliged to implement its provisions in their national legislation. In case of violations of the civil and political rights set out in the Convention, it is possible for the private person to apply to the European Court of Human Rights after the case has been processed through the national court system. Judgements issued by the European Court of Human Rights are binding on the countries concerned obliging governments to modify their national legislation and administrative practice in a wide range of areas.
Principles and policies aimed at combating discrimination of people on grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief are formulated in EU legislation, namely Council Directives 2000/43/EC3, 2000/78/EC4 and 2004/113/EC5. Discrimination based on race or ethnic origin is prohibited in employment, occupation and vocational training, as well as in non-employment areas such as social protection, health care, education and access to goods and services, including housing, which are available to the public. Discrimination based on age, religion and belief, sexual orientation and disability is prohibited only in employment, occupation and vocational training.
We find the regulation of the rights for persons with disabilities in EU (Paragraphs 12 and 26 of EC Directive 2000/78/EC Preamble). Paragraph 12 in gives EU Council the possibility to act with measures to combat any discrimination based on persons’ disability. EC Directive 2000/78/EC establishes a general framework for employment equality. This Directive also includes persons with disabilities in EU. Paragraph 26 recognises and respects the rights of persons with disabilities to
2 Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (as amended by Protocols No. 11 and No. 14), Rome, 4 Novermber 1950: http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/en/treaties/html/005.htm 3 Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, Official Journal L 180 , 19/07/2000 P. 0022 – 0026: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32000L0043:en:HTML 4 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000:303:0016:0016:EN:PDF 5 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004 implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:373:0037:0043:EN:PDF
14 IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities benefit from measures designed to ensure their independence, social and occupational integration and participation in society within EU.
The EU based its policy on such values as freedom, democracy and respect for human rights, and it means that the EU Member States should respect the protection and promotion of human rights.
One of criteria that define whether a country is eligible to join the European Union includes respect for human rights and that protection for all kind of minorities is provided.
The Treaty of Lisbon6 set out the principles of human rights. The Lisbon Treaty was signed by EU Member States on 13 December 2007, and it came into force on 1 December 2009, after all Member States have ratified it.
3.1.2. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities7
On 10 December 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights8. The Declaration for the first time established in detail a set of human rights and fundamental freedoms with regard to human persons and to the relationship between the state and the individual. It also set common standards for human rights, which take precedence over political, economic, cultural and religious differences.
The European Union signed the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on its opening day for signature on 30 March 2007. It has since been signed by all 27 EU countries. As of March 2012, it has 153 signatories and 111 ratifications9. Article 40 of the Convention stipulates that “The State Parties shall meet regularly in a Conference of State Parties in order to consider any matter with regard to the implementation of the present Convention”. Since 2008, four sessions of the Conference of State Parties have been held at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The latest meeting was held 7 to 9 September 2011 and this means that the topic has a high priority.
An Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities allows individuals and groups to appeal to a Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities once all national recourse procedures have been exhausted.
3.2. National legal acts
According to the responses to the questionnaire, only a few tax administrations confirmed having specific provisions in their national tax legislation concerning the treatment of minority groups. The majority of the surveyed administrations have general statements in their legislation stipulating that everyone should be assisted
6 Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, signed at Lisbon, 13 December 2007: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2007:306:SOM:EN:HTML 7 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml 8 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ 9 http://www.un.org/disabilities/
15 IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities in the same way and that all people have the same rights to obtain information and service.
Denmark In accordance with the Public Administration Act (Section 7) the Danish public authorities, including the Ministry of Taxation, must provide advice and guidance to all persons.
Germany As the federal states (Länder) administer the taxes on behalf of the Federation on their own responsibility, the questions raised were addressed to the federal states, whose answers did not always result in a uniform picture. However, the basic principle of avoidance of any kind of discrimination on the grounds of origin, race, religion or disability applies to all tax administrations as well as other administrations in accordance with the German legislation (Allgemeines Gleichstellungsgesetz). At the same time the federal states endeavour to find appropriate solutions for the individual case by responding to minorities accordingly to their needs. Federal laws such as the law “Allgemeines Gleichstellungsgesetz” mentioned above or the Fiscal Code and the law of federal states include several provisions concerning communication and services for minorities.
Hungary According to the Act CXL of 2004 on the General Rules of Administrative Proceedings and Services, the minority organisations and the natural persons falling under the scope of the Act on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities may use the language (in verbal or written form) of their respective minority in proceedings with administrative authorities. The resolution adopted upon an application submitted in a minority language is issued in Hungarian and translated into the language of the application at the customer's request (the expenses of the translations are covered by the Hungarian State if the customer is a member of a national/ethnic minority).
Ireland Specific provisions in the national tax legislation concerning the treatment of minority groups are defined in Disability Act 2005, Employment Equality Act 1998, and Equal Status Acts 2000-2004.
Italy The Italian Constitution (Article 6) states: "The Republic protects linguistic minorities with focused rules". Further to this constitutional article, the Law no. 482/1999 "Rules concerning the protection of historical linguistic minorities" identifies those languages and cultures protected by the Italian Republic: Albanian, Catalan, Germanic, Greek, Slovene, Croatian populations and people speaking French, Franco-Provençal, Friulan, Ladin, Occitan and Sardinian languages. Provincial councils are demanded to define territorial areas where they apply these rules. Public administration offices of those areas (except for military and police forces) are allowed to use the protected language both in spoken and written way. With this aim, public administrations guarantee, also by means of agreements with other bodies, the presence of personnel able to reply to requests in the protected language.
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Lithuania There is no specific legislation governing the maintenance of separate minority groups. However, the Law on Public Administration of the Republic of Lithuania and the Tax Administration Law of the Republic of Lithuania contain provisions regulating such issues as: respect of human rights, non-discrimination, objectivity, justice, etc. It should be noted also that on 29 June 2004 the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania has approved Taxpayer Service Standards in which communication with customers with disabilities, pregnant woman, elderly, poor health and other special people was defined10.
Poland At the national level, there is legislation relating to communication and services for minorities in the field of public access to information and buildings adopted for the handicapped. Regarding to tax administration, there is no other special regulation in this area.
Slovenia By Slovenian legislation representatives of the ethnic minorities can use their language in the administrative procedures.
Spain - Law 51/2003 of 2 December, on equal opportunities, non-discrimination and universal accessibility of disabled persons; - Royal Decree 366/2007 of 16 March, establishing the conditions of accessibility and non- discrimination for disabled persons in their relations with the State General Administration; - Royal Decree 1494/2007 of 12 November, on basic conditions for the access of disabled persons to the technologies, products or services related to the information society and social communication media.
Sweden Sweden has an overall legislation (Förvaltningslagen) stating that everybody has the same right to receiving information. As an example of this ratification in Sweden is the Swedish disability policy. The objectives of the Swedish disability policy are: a social community based on diversity; a society designed to allow people with disabilities of all ages full participation in the life of the community; equal opportunities in life for girls and boys, women and men with disabilities. The policy area covers measures to remove obstacles to full participation in society, action to combat discrimination and individual support. The measures are cross-sectoral and are included in most policy areas. Sweden is facing several challenges in welfare provision. Improvements in welfare require fresh thinking to improve quality, a diversity of actors and great freedom of choice for the individual. More attention must be paid to the situation on the labour market. The government is going to give greater priority to work to increase employment for people with disabilities and to identifying and removing the obstacles to participation in working life. Combating discrimination is a central part of work on disability policy.
10 The standard is available at: http://www.vmi.lt/lt/index.aspx?itemId=1084616
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Making Sweden accessible requires action in many areas. The national action plan for disability policy contains clear objectives for accessibility that should be attained during 2010. They include the objectives of making public transport accessible and remedying easily eliminated obstacles in premises and public open spaces. Concerted efforts are needed at various levels to achieve the objectives by 2010 at the latest. Within the EU and the Council of Europe Sweden takes an active part to promote the rights of persons with disabilities.
United Kingdom Public authorities in the United Kingdom are obliged to follow Equality Act 2010, which proscribes discrimination against minority groups. In case of disabled people, it requires public sector bodies to make reasonable adjustments allowing disabled people to access customer services.
3.3. National legal acts regulating national minorities and national minority languages
3.3.1. National minorities
Most countries in Europe have national minority languages. Some languages are linked to a certain part of a country or just a language connected to a minority. In Europe there are more than forty national minorities and about forty million people.
In most countries there is no registration of this national language minority so the numbers of people who are a national minority are not exact (the calculation is made by EBLUL). The only country within EU that has a registration of national minority language speaking people is Finland.
The European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities11 was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe as the most comprehensive multilateral treaty devoted to minority rights12. Out of 46 IOTA Member countries in Europe 42 have signed the Convention and 35 countries have ratified the Convention. The Convention is based upon 32 articles in five sections.
These are examples of countries which have ratified the Convention and applied its provisions to the following national minorities or minority groups: • Denmark: the Germans; • Finland: the Sami (indigenous minority), the Roma, the Jews, the Tatars, the Old Russians and Finnishswedish; • Norway: Under Norwegian law, the Forest Finns, Jews, Kvens, Roma and Skogfinn (people of Finnish descent in South Norway) are officially
11 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) at http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/minorities/default_en.asp 12 Pamphlet No. 8 of the UN Guide for Minorities: The Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuideMinorities8en.pdf
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recognised as national minorities; at the same time, Norway has accorded the Sami status as an 'indigenous people'13; • Sweden: the Sami, the Swedish Finns, the Tornedalers, the Roma and the Jews; • Germany: the Danish minority, the Sorbs in Saxony and Brandenburg, the Friesians in Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony, and the Roma/Sinti throughout Germany14; • Netherlands: No national minority defined.
3.3.2. National minority languages
There is also a European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. Out of 46 IOTA Member countries 33 have signed the Charter and 25 countries have ratified it15.
These are examples of countries which have ratified the Charter and declared at the time of ratification the regional and minority languages protected under the Charter: • Denmark: German (minority language); Faroese and Greenlandic (official regional languages)16; • Finland: Swedish (as another official language); Sami, Romani, Finnish Sign Language and Karelian language (as minority languages)17; • Norway: Sami and Kven (as additional official languages), Romani as minority language18; • Sweden: Finnish, Sami language, Romani, Yiddish, and Meänkieli (Tornedal Finnish)19; • Germany: Danish, Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian, North Frisian, Sater Frisian, Low German and Romani; • Netherlands: Lower Saxon, Yiddish, Romani, Frisian.
The countries above have implemented national legislation for national minorities and for national minority languages. From this point of view, public authorities in UK obliged to follow the Welsh Language Act ensuring communications in Welsh for Welsh speakers.
The surveyed countries have also provided different kind of financial support to promote minorities and minority languages. The country that has invested most in this question is Norway.
13 World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Norway: Overview, UNHCR website: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,MRGI,,NOR,4954cdff23,0.html 14 World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Germany: Overview, UNHCR website: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,COUNTRYPROF,DEU,,4954ce03c,0.html 15 European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages CETS No.: 148: Status as of: 28/3/2012: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ChercheSig.asp?NT=148&CM=8&DF=&CL=ENG 16 Minority Languages in Denmark: http://europe.brg19.at/projekte/body/den_l/den_l.html 17 Languages of Finland – Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Finland 18 Languages of Norway – Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Norway 19 National minorities and minority languages: A summary of the Government’s policy, July 2007: http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/08/56/34/920bbf49.pdf
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Unfortunately, we have not found any country that has implemented this kind of regulation in tax laws. They have only regulations and laws on a national level.
3.3.3. International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization (ILO) is another organisation that deals with reducing obstacles for minorities in different countries in the international level. The main task for ILO is to draw up and oversee international labour standards. ILO Convention No. 169 is a legally binding international instrument open to ratification, which deals specifically with the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples. Twenty countries have ratified Convention No.169 - Argentina (2000), Plurinational State of Bolivia (1991), Brazil (2002), Central African Republic (2001), Chile (2008), Colombia (2008), Costa Rica (1993), Denmark (1996), Dominica (2002), Ecuador (1998), Fiji (1998), Guatemala (1996), Honduras (1995), Mexico (1990), Nepal (2007), the Netherlands (1998), Nicaragua (2010), Norway (1990), Paraguay (1993), Peru (1994), Spain (2007), Bolivian Republic of Venezuela (2002).
The Department of Justice in Sweden, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Finland, the Department of Labour and the Department of Culture in Norway meet every year to examine what kind of rules are necessary to take care of national minorities in these countries.
3.4. Agreements between neighboring countries on cross-border workers
In several cases there is close co-operation between two or more countries. An example of that is the co-operation between tax authorities of the Nordic countries.
The directors general of Nordic countries meet a couple of times each year and make agreements to solve taxation problems between the countries. An example of such co-operation is the common webpage (www.nordisketax.net) that handled all tax matters if a Nordic citizen works in another Nordic country; information on this website is provided in all Nordic languages.
Another agreement settled by the directors general of Nordic tax administrations was at their meeting in 2011, on exchange of prefilled information between the Nordic countries concerning income of their nationals receiving foreign pensions.
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4. STRATEGIES AND MEASURES ABOUT COMMUNICATION AND SERVICES TOWARDS MINORITIES
4.1. Communication strategy in general
Strategy is a word of military origin and it refers to a plan of action which is designed to achieve a particular goal, aim or purpose.
Communication strategy is communication aligned with the organisation's overall strategy, to enhance its strategic positioning. It refers to policy-making and guidance for consistent information activity within the organisation. It means ensuring that communication programs meet the objectives of the organisation. However, the term "communication strategy" means more than just getting the right message to the right people. Communication strategy is the "what, who, why, when, how, and where" of conveying information. It is to create, strengthen, or preserve conditions favourable for the advancement of the interests, policies, and objectives of the organisation through the use of coordinated programs, plans, themes, messages, and products.
Communication strategy means communicating a concept, a process, or data that satisfies a long-term strategic goal of an organisation and the related function within the organisation, which handles internal and external communication processes.
Communication strategies help the organisation plan communication with the target audience and the colleagues. Good strategies can improve the interactive nature of communication and help us receive information from the target groups.
Communication strategies help the organisation to disseminate information in a structured and controlled manner. An ideal strategy details the structure of information flow, the message, the correct target group to address, potential vehicles to carry the message, the required resources and the feedback mechanisms so as to learn from the whole exercise.
4.2. Communication strategies in IOTA tax administrations
Four IOTA Member tax administrations, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, and the Czech Republic, have strategies on minorities.
At the end of the 90s Sweden started the development of communication strategy with minorities. The first target group was immigrant people. Then they broadened the line with the deaf and blind people.
Since 2007, the Spanish Tax Agency has had a Strategic Plan for Communication, where not only disabled people but also immigrants and other minority groups (aged people or groups with tax peculiarities) are considered.
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Denmark has formulated a strategy for the English website, which targets taxpayers who do not understand Danish. The aim of the strategy is to make sure that the information published on the website in English should satisfy the needs of the users. The website was launched in October 2009.
In the Czech Republic the strategy of communication and service towards minorities is part of the state policy on integration of foreigners. The government approves a report about the performance of the strategy every year. The policy objectives of the integration of minorities, in particular, are to prevent problems in the field of immigration of communities, to support the conflict-free relations with the majority of the society and integration aimed at children and young people. Every state institution carries out special programs to enhance these activities year by year. Most of the activities are coordinated by the Ministry for Human Rights and realised through the committees for minorities, National Government Organisation and regional and local authorities. Integration policies, among the main tools, include implementation projects, creating emeritus network integration centre and monitoring their status. Integration activities aimed at providing information and advice, teaching the Czech language, coaching to increase inter-cultural and professional competence of the relevant parties (officials, teachers, health-care professionals), strengthening the control of activities and the operational exchange of data and information.
Although not specifically targeted at minority groups, in Ireland, the Revenue's Statement of Strategy 2008-2010 (www.revenue.ie) highlights commitment to the provision of quality customer services for all taxpayers, including non-Irish nationals. One of the performance indicators for this objective is the number of information campaigns on tax and customs systems run locally and nationally and the number of customers reached by these campaigns, including programmes directed at non-Irish nationals. The individuals are helped to understand their obligations and entitlements, and the range of customer service initiatives and the measures of communication strategy are accessible to all taxpayers. A number of information leaflets are available in other languages including French, Spanish, German, Italian and Chinese. In Ireland, a wide range of tax information can be found on the Citizens Information website (www.citizensinformation.ie). It is an e-Government website which is maintained by the Citizens Information Board (CIB). The CIB is a national agency, which is responsible for supporting the provision of information, advice and advocacy to the public on a broad range of social and civil services. The CIB has an advocacy role for people who are at a disadvantage when claiming their entitlements or seeking the services they need because of disability, social inequalities, literacy, or language difficulties. These services are provided by the CIB through its nationwide network of offices. Many of the CIB's clients would be drawn from the minority groups identified in the questionnaire. Since 1999, Revenue has been committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability. The Irish tax and customs administration is continually working on improving the accessibility and usability of the website and compliance with the applicable guidelines and standards.
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In Estonia the development of client service principles has, in broad sense, started in 2004 when the Client Service Management Department was established in the organisation. Although the Estonian Tax and Customs Board does not have a strategy about communication and service towards minorities, the principles of communication with clients, including minorities, have been established in different documents. The main objectives for 2009-2012 cover the development of the e-environment to provide new services and simplified procedures taking into account the needs of minorities. In addition, the principles regulating communication and client service, including minorities, are written down in the service standards. The document "Concept of a Customer Service Place" is regulating accessibility to the service bureaus either with wheelchair or baby pram; attention is paid to that either lift or wheelchair ramp should be built in the building when the service bureaus are renovated or new ones built.
A number of improvements in customer service have been introduced by UK’s HM Revenue & Customs, including adoption of Disability Road Map (launched in 2010), which was also agreed with external stakeholders.
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5. SPECIFIC POLICIES AND TARGETED ACTIONS TO COMMUNICATE TO AND/OR ASSIST CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF MINORITY GROUPS
The questionnaire sent out to all Members of the IOTA was not only aiming to get answers about how the Member tax administrations are communicating with and helping minority groups in tax matters, it also asked questions about policies or procedures that were put in place to communicate and assist these groups.
The focus of the asked questions was on the following groups: • Those who have problems with understanding the official language(s) of the state they reside in; • Those who have a different ethnical background; • Those who could be subject to discrimination because of some kind of disability: • The blind or the partially sighted; • The deaf or hard of hearing; • The housebounds. • People of extreme age and those who are residents of care homes; • Those who need long term hospital or hospice care; • The cross-border workers; • The prisoners; • The IT illiterate people; • Others (e.g. young people, etc.)
In the chart below you can find the answers given by the IOTA Members related to the category in which some policies or actions have been or being taken.
25 tax administrations brought in their answers. In the table below you can find the category of minority group that enjoys some privileges and the IOTA Members that provide some assistance for these groups.
Category Countries Taxpayers who have problems with 17 countries: understanding the official language(s) Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom IT illiterate people 11 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine The blind and the partially sighted 15 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland,
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Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom People of extreme age and those who are 4 countries: residents of care homes and housebounds Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Poland The cross-border workers 8 countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden Prisoners 3 countries: France, Italy, Sweden Disabled people 12 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom Young people 3 countries: Denmark, France, Lithuania
Type of action Countries Specific brochures 21 countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom Translated websites 21 countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom Meetings with minority groups 12 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom Field working 5 countries: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Poland, Spain Contact points 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden Direct assistance 6 countries:
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Azerbaijan, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Norway Text telephone for deaf people 5 countries: Azerbaijan, Denmark, Ireland, Ukraine, United Kingdom Specific video’s 5 countries: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Sweden E-learning programs 3 countries: Denmark, Estonia, Sweden Advertising mass media 6 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, Sweden
In this section all countries who answered the questionnaire are grouped regarding their capacity to undertake specific actions towards the following categories of minority group: • Taxpayers who have problems with understanding the official languages; • Those who have a different ethnical background; • Disabled people; • People of extreme age and those who are residents of care homes and housebounds; • Long term hospital/hospice care; • The cross-border workers; • Prisoners; • IT illiterate people.
5.1. Taxpayers who have problems with understanding the official language(s)
5.1.1. Introduction
In this area the actions taken can be divided into three major categories of communication actions towards non-official language speaking minority groups: • Countries that have provided websites in different languages; • Countries that have forms and documents in different languages; • Countries that organised contact centres and call centres that are able to deal with taxpayers who do not speak the official language.
5.1.2. Countries providing information on national tax websites in different languages
A lot of IOTA Member tax administrations provide information in several languages on their homepages. The following tax administrations are only described as examples.
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In Austria where the official language in the biggest part of the country is German (88.6%), the homepage of the Ministry of Finance (Bundesministerium für Finanzen) contains an English translation for the most important items. In Burgenland some minority groups speak also Turkish, Serbian and Croatian. In Carinthia also Slovenian is an official Austrian language.
Belgium has three official languages, which are in order of native speaker population in Belgium: Dutch, French and German. The website of the Federal Public Service Finance also provides information in English.
In Denmark, the website of the Danish Ministry of Taxation maintains a limited number of documents in English. On the pages you can find a presentation of the minister, the mission statement, contact information and a few reports and publications translated into English. On the English website, information for taxpayers who are living in Denmark but have poor knowledge of Danish language and tax rules is available under the menu "Living in Denmark".
In Estonia the sole official language is Estonian. Russian is still spoken as a secondary language by thirty to seventy year old ethnic Estonians, because Russian was the unofficial language from 1944 to 1991 and taught as a compulsory second language during the Soviet era. The latter, mostly Russian-speaking ethnic minorities, reside predominantly in the capital city of Tallinn and the industrial urban areas. In some parts of the country, both Swedish and Estonian are co-official languages, and there are 22 villages with officially bilingual names. The most common foreign languages learned by Estonians are English, Russian, German, Swedish and Finnish. The homepage of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board is provided mostly in Estonian but, where necessary or possible, also in Russian or in English.
In Germany, the official and predominant spoken language is German. The Internet homepage of the Federal Ministry of Finance is officially provided in German, but English and French versions of the website are also available for visitors.
In Hungary, the homepage of the National Tax and Customs Administration is available in Hungarian (95% of the population) and a part of it in German (1.2% of the population), French and English.
In Ireland, the Revenue (Irish tax and customs administration) website carries limited information for taxpayers in a number of minority languages including Czech, German, Spanish, French, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Russian, traditional & simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, Romanian and Bulgarian. An information leaflet for immigrants on Irish tax obligations “The Moving to Ireland Guide” was published on the website in 2005 and was translated into a number of languages.
In Italy, the website of the Italian tax administration (Agenzia Entrate) has issued an English version of its website where non-Italian speaking users can find all the information and documents useful to those who want to know more about the Italian tax system, the Italian Revenue Agency and the services it provides to taxpayers.
In Latvia, where the sole official language is Latvian, the basic information on the website of the State Revenue Service of Latvia is also available in English and Russian.
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In Lithuania, there is a section in English on the website of the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance. ”Tax Procedures in the STI”, "Taxpayer Service Standards” are translated into English and published on the section “Publications” of the website. Publications on tax matters translated into English can be found in this section as well.
In Poland, both the Ministry of Finance website (www.mf.gov.pl) and the tax chambers’ websites (www.is.waw.pl/en/) are translated into English.
Spain has a progressive translation to English of the contents of its website and online office.
If English is not the customer’s first language, UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will allow a friend or family member to interpret for customers who do not speak English as a first language. When a customer contacts one of HMRC's help-lines, they will ask a customer if he/she has a friend or family member who is willing to interpret for her/him and if the customer would be happy for them to do so. This friend or family member needs to be over 16 years of age and should be with the customer when he/she calls HMRC. If the customer does not have or does not wish to use a friend or family member, HMRC offers a free language interpretation service. Customers can use this service when they telephone HMRC or when they come in to an HMRC Enquiry Centre. Customers can contact one of HRMC’s help-lines or their own tax offices that will arrange this service. If customer’s preferred language is Welsh, he/she can call the Welsh Language Helpline.
5.1.3. Countries developing forms and documents in different languages
Austria has made an effort to make forms, brochures, etc. available in several languages (English, Slovenian, Croatian, Hungarian, Serbian, Turkish, Slovakian, and Czech).
For Belgium, please refer to the description under section 3.4.2 of this report.
In Germany and Ireland, for people with insufficient language skills a number of key tax forms and leaflets are available in several foreign languages.
In France, in addition to meetings, local services provide documents in English, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. In the form of leaflets, they mainly promote online payment of taxes.
Italy, Latvia and Slovenia provide brochures in English. Latvia also has basic information in Russian, and Slovenia published some brochures, forms in the language of the national minorities (Italian and Hungarian).
The United Kingdom has multi-language help sheets to help customers understand tax and national insurance when they come to work in the UK and whom to contact: a series of help sheets are available in different languages - Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian and Slovakian.
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5.1.4. Countries using contact centres and call centres to deliver services to taxpayers who do not speak the official language(s)
Most countries have organised it in a way that communication officers are able to deal with different languages.
Some tax administrations regularly educate their tax officers in foreign languages or make sure that their communication teams have a few officers belonging to minority groups (Austria).
Other countries provide services to their clients only in the official language (Estonia), but have staff at the local tax offices with foreign language skills to communicate with the relevant taxpayers or have in addition some voluntary interpreters (Germany).
Others have recruited public counter staff with foreign language skills and arrange information evenings in foreign languages in their public offices (Ireland).
In Lithuania and in Poland information is also provided in English, and in some specific parts of these countries, due to the special context, also Russian is available.
UK’s HM Revenue and Customs offers translation services into Welsh, for non-English speakers presenting at contact centres, and for compliance purposes. Contact centres have access to a private sector translation service provided under a contract with “The Big Word”. This enables telephone callers to be joined with a Big Word translator in a conference call in cases if they have insufficient grasp of English.
At the meeting of IOTA Area Group “Taxpayers Education and Services” in 2008, a presentation “Developing a Policy on Customer Support in Minority Languages” was delivered by the United Kingdom. Also Norway showed interest in this item and made a presentation at the same meeting of the Area Group of 2008. Links to both presentations, which are available on the IOTA website, can be found under the part “References” of this report.
5.2. Taxpayers with a different ethical background
Sometimes members of minority groups who have a different ethnical background are prone to different treatment in the countries and societies in which they live. This discrimination may be directly based on an individual's perceived membership of a minority group, without consideration of that individual's personal achievement. It may also occur indirectly, due to social structures that are not equally accessible to all.
As a remedy to such context, different countries have their tax information available in a non-discriminating way for taxpayers with a different ethnical background.
Some examples of these measures can be found in the following countries:
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For Belgium we can refer to section 3.4.2 of this report regarding a special information action toward Arab-speaking people.
In France, each year local services organise communication actions towards taxpayers who live in France but do not speak French. The aim is to present the main features of French taxation. These operations are primarily briefings. They are an opportunity to present the tax system to foreign public. The main topics are the different incomes taxable in France, the wealth tax, local taxes, the modern means of payment. The presentation is provided in a foreign language, by leading members of local associations, or by members of the tax administration.
The Lithuanian Tax Information Centre of the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania provides taxpayers with general information in English and Russian languages.
Slovenia allows representatives of the ethnic minorities to use their language in the administrative procedures.
A special focus can be placed on Spain: The Strategic Plan for Communication defines that minorities need special attention. Therefore, the Spanish tax administration has contacted several associations of immigrants and has organised some informative conferences. The brochure that was used has been translated to Romanian by the association of Romanians. The language policy of the Spanish tax administration is based on making effective communication in their respective official language to anyone who so desires. Given the volume of information to translate, the incorporation of the homepage is gradual. In any case, it ensures that taxpayers may use language that is co-official in their respective region.
UK disseminates all the forms and other publications in Welsh, whenever requested. HM Revenue and Customs has a special Welsh Language Unit which translates material for Welsh customers.
In addition to these examples some countries are recruiting people from ethnic minority groups to work for the tax administration and to be involved in taxpayer services.
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5.3. Disabled people (blind and partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing, housebound)
5.3.1. Accessibility to the tax administrations’ websites
According to W3C (the World Wide Web Consortium is an international community that develops standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web)20 different disabilities can affect the web accessibility.
Of course, different definitions of disability are possible and the meaning of this section is not to be complete. It provides some description of the most common and the most known disabilities, related to how to access the web. It is to be considered as general information. Further on in this section some examples are given that exist in the countries that gave these answers to the questionnaire.
W3C provides with the following list of some disabilities and their relation to accessibility issues on the Web: • Visual disabilities: • Blindness; • Low vision; • Colour blindness. • Hearing impairments: • Deafness; • Hard of hearing. • Physical disabilities: • Motor disabilities. • Speech disabilities; • Cognitive and neurological disabilities: • Dyslexia and dyscalculia; • Attention deficit disorder; • Intellectual disabilities; • Memory impairments; • Mental health disabilities; • Seizure disorders. • Multiple disabilities and aging-related conditions.
Many accessibility solutions contribute to "universal design" (also called "design for all") by benefiting non-disabled users as well as people with disabilities. Here is the link to the W3C-document: http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use- Web/#shopper.
20 How People with Disabilities Use the Web ,Working-Group Internal Draft, 5 May 2005, This Version: http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use-Web/20050505, Latest version: http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use-Web/ Previous Version: http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use-Web/20040708 Editors :Judy Brewer ([email protected]),See also Acknowledgements section ;Copyright © 1994-2005 W3C (MIT, ERCIM, Keio), All Rights Reserved. W3C liability, trademark, document use and software licensing rules apply.
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When reading the answers to the questionnaire, one can see that most tax administrations have developed websites respecting the W3C rules to guarantee the accessibility for disabled people (some examples: Belgium, Estonia, France, Lithuania, Hungary, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and United Kingdom).
Spain has an agreement with the associations of disabled and the blind that it provides an annual plan of assistance. This plan includes informative conferences during the tax return campaign, sign language interpreters, assistance to fulfil the tax return in the headquarters of the associations, accessibility of the AEAT's website and buildings and adapted brochures. Websites of the Spanish tax administration have received Euracert Accessibility certification, level Double-A, issued by Technosite, a company belonging to the ONCE Foundation Group, as a certification authority, after an audit was carried out in 2009. This certification does not include the Virtual Office of the Tax Agency, which has not been audited. The tax administration continues to work on the accessibility of the contents of that office. To ensure that the Tax Agency’s website maintains accessibility requirements for holding the seal Euracert, Technosite submit the web accessibility testing regularly. The Spanish accessibility policy is described as follows: “The purpose of the tax is to offer web access for all citizens, so that, regardless of their disability, age or access the web from unconventional technologies, they would be able to browse the pages http://www.agenciatributaria.es without problems”. Accessibility policy applied by the tax administration is in line with the requirements of 1.494/2007 Royal Decree of 12 November, approving the regulation on basic conditions for access of persons with disabilities to technology, products and services related to information society and media. The websites of the tax administration met with the AA level UNE 139803:2004 and Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 W3C Web Content.
A very interesting website is the UK tax administration’s homepage21. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) recognises the importance of ensuring that website is accessible and easy to use for all its customers, including those with disabilities. It offers the following service: 1. Changing settings for keyboard, mouse, colour, font and text size; 2. Website accessibility policy; 3. Useful resources; 4. HMRC services for customers with particular needs; 5. Technical help.
5.3.2. Deaf, hard of hearing or have speech impairment
The public offices in Ireland have pick-up loop facilities for deaf customers, and they provide a sign language service on request. There is a counter loop system for customers with hearing aids in some offices together with a Minicom system for customers who are profoundly deaf. They have also designated a number of access officers to act as a point of contact for disabled customers and have published their contact details on the website.
21 http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/contactus/particular-needs.htm The UK HMRC website also provides more useful links, such as: HMRC's Accessibility Statement, How to deal with HM Revenue & Customs for someone else, Blind Person's Allowance, You have a disability - can you get extra tax credits?; VAT relief for disabled and older people.
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The UK’s HMRC has special services and facilities for customers with disabilities or particular needs. If a customer has speech impairment, or is deaf or hard of hearing, he/she can contact the tax administration by using text relay or by textphone. Most of enquiry centres at UK’s HMRC offer: induction loops in case of hearing difficulties, crystal listening devices, textphones, text relay service, big buttoned phones with amplifiers, lip speakers, help for customers who are unable to fill in forms and tax returns, a British Sign Language interpreter. Any forms, leaflets or information could be ordered through textphone by contacting the tax office.
Sweden has also been using textphone service for deaf or hard of hearing customers. The Swedish Tax Agency has established co-operation with the Deaf Association and the Blind Association who print information in their magazine. Disabled people have the possibility for hearing texts. There is also sign language assistance available at the Swedish Tax Agency’s homepage.
5.3.3. Blind or partially sighted
For blind or partially sighted persons in Germany the tax assessment notes are issued in Braille or large-print. The same applies to several forms and documents. One federal state provides audio cassettes and other sound carriers for this minority group. Sign language interpreters support deaf persons on a voluntary basis or in accordance with the federal state’s law.
In Italy, there exists a guide in Braille and an audio guide. This country also makes publication concerning tax breaks for people with disabilities.
UK’s HMRC enquiry centres can offer lit magnifiers to help reading their forms, magnifying sheets and help for customers who are unable to fill in forms and tax returns. In addition, markers are set on computer systems to record when it is established that the customer is blind or partially sighted and has accessibility needs. In such situation, computer output and other correspondence is routed through a ”Visually Impaired Media Unit”, which provides alternative format products to meet customer’s needs, for example, large print, audio or Braille.
The Irish tax and customs administration has put measures in place to ensure that the special needs of blind and deaf people are taken into consideration. The Revenue Commissioners pay great attention to improve the facilities and appearance of public offices to which taxpayers have access. There is communication in Braille and by tape for the blind, and also a screen reader in compatible version of ROS for visually impaired persons.
5.3.4. Home visiting
France and Belgium are sending teams to care home residents and to hospitals to help people fill their tax return.
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In Italy there are agreements at regional and local level with relevant associations for providing specific services when required, such as: - Special direct lines for assisting people with disabilities by phone for easy enquiries; - Dedicated front offices for people with disabilities and possibility given to the associations to collect and file, also cumulatively, requests to the offices; - Provide assistance at home.
If UK HMRC cannot answer a taxpayer’s enquiry by telephone or letter and a customer is unable to visit an enquiry centre because of being disabled or elderly, and the enquiry centre does not have step-free access, a customer may be able to make an arrangement for HMRC to visit him/her at home.
5.4. People of extreme age and those who are residents of care homes or in a long term hospital/hospice care
In Belgium, Bulgaria and France, every year tax agents travel to care homes in order to help the residents to complete their tax form; the officers of the territorial directorates / tax offices are also assisting these persons when filling documents, or during income tax campaigns; local directorates organise meetings in different areas for the people who are not able to come to local offices. The teams go to care home residents, to the hospitals, to prisons or to shopping malls to help people fill their tax return.
Italy has an agreement with relevant associations in several areas all over the territory and provision of assistance at home. There is also provision of assistance at the hospital during tax returns filing periods.
Poland has an original solution at the local level: tax offices’ employees were doing “duty hours” in the hospital, in the old people’s home to make it easier for the patients for accounting their income or earnings; and for seriously ill persons resting at home there is a special phone number where taxpayers can phone for help with filling a tax return or to ask about tax regulations.
5.5. Cross-border workers
On the Belgian website German cross-border workers can find some interesting information regarding their fiscal situation, offered in their own language. See enclosed document. Also, since February 2003, a few Belgian tax officers are working at the Information Centre from the ‘Belastingdienst Buitenland’ (IBB) - a section of the tax and customs administration of the Netherlands. They provide answers to the questions from Dutch and Belgian cross-border workers. They use special software (FAQs) and actually they are functioning as a kind of call centre. Every second Friday of the month they organise face- to-face meetings. They do it in collaboration with some Dutch colleagues. They also make presentations to companies explaining the Dutch and the Belgian tax systems for cross- border workers. As a fall-back, they can rely on a back-office in Brussels that is called BELINTAX. It is a technical support for the IBB and for the contact persons working at the regional level and specialising in the application of the specific cross-border regulation that concerns the Netherlands and Belgium. Indeed, until 31 December 2002, there was a specific regime for cross-border workers in the Belgian-Dutch double taxation treaty. People living in the cross-border region (defined in the convention) of one state who worked in the cross-border region of the other state
34 IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities were taxable in the state of residence. With the new treaty of 5 June 2001, applicable as from 1 January 2003, the cross-border regime was lifted so that in most of the cases, cross-border workers became taxable in the state of activity. This alteration brought several big tax consequences for people who enjoyed the cross- border regime in the past. Furthermore, the new treaty contained some other provisions that led to tax consequences for all cross-border workers, also the ones that did not meet the conditions of the specific old cross-border regime. Most of the Dutch residents working in Belgium would find themselves in a more disadvantageous financial situation under the new treaty as there was not any special compensation foreseen for them. In order to inform all people concerned, leaflets were made and distributed widely and there were information campaigns. As there were still many questions left from all persons involved, Belgium decided that two Belgian tax officers would join the information centre for foreigners that already existed in the Netherlands. This information centre thus became the first contact point for all questions concerning consequences for cross-border workers following the new double taxation treaty. All Belgian residents working in the Netherlands can contact the information centre for all possible information on their obligations in both countries and on the tax consequences of their cross-border job and, of course, the same goes for all Dutch residents working in Belgium. As the group of cross-border workers continue to have extra obligations and have specific needs for information on their situation, the Belgian officers are still part of the information centre, even when the new treaty is already applicable for more than 8 years.
In Denmark, on the English website, information for cross-border workers is available under the menu "Living outside Denmark".
For Germany, Poland and Slovenia, to some extent special contact persons offer consultation for cross-border workers on special and general tax topics and arrange contacts to reference persons outside the tax administration and to their colleagues abroad. Series of training modules and lectures for cross-border workers are held in border regions and/or communication through mass and local media, or communication through their representatives.
Sweden has special cooperation with some of the Nordic countries on the web portal called “Nordic Tax Portal” (http://www.nordisketax.net/). For further details, please refer to section 4.4 of this report, where you can find a description of how Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have developed a website dedicated to special taxation needs related to individuals working in these countries.
5.6. Prisoners
Only a few countries seem to develop a special approach regarding the way of handling tax matters of prisoners.
In France, teams go in prisons to help people fill their tax return, and Italy fixed some agreements at local level with penitentiaries for providing service at the prison during tax returns’ filing periods.
Norway and Sweden have projects where they have different types of informative meetings with prisoners.
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5.7. IT illiterate people
Most countries have recognised the need of helping people who still are IT illiterate. Although this part of the population is diminishing very quickly, some special approaches are available in several countries. Most of the time tax officers help this minority group with filing their tax returns. Other countries try to make it easier for these taxpayers by creating special incentives for using the Internet. As an example, there is reference to the Belgian experience, which is described in section 1.4.6 of this report.
As an illustration of how tax administrations are assisting people, Austria communicates personally with clients who have not got any IT competencies.
In Bulgaria, kiosk terminals are installed in all the territorial directorates containing basic information about tax and social security liabilities, bank accounts, deadlines, etc. These terminals are providing easy and quick access to the information and do not require special IT knowledge.
In Estonia and Slovenia, all service bureaus have computers available for the taxpayers who can fill in their tax returns through the e-Tax/e-Customs. The officials of the service bureaus help to fill in the tax returns. Estonia also participates in a project that encourages citizens to use the Internet: training courses were organised in their service bureaus to teach people to use electronic services with ID-card, mobile-ID.
Germany: As wage tax return in principle has to be filed online (by employers), tax authorities may grant IT illiterate persons with a relief by allowing to submit a paper version of tax return and thus to avoid undue hardship.
Sweden and Ukraine have e-service education on their website and they try to inform about their e-service in their brochures or during the training classes.
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6. SPECIFIC TOOLS TAX ADMINISTRATIONS USE TO COMMUNICATE WITH MINORITY GROUPS
6.1. Translated materials, brochures etc. (languages)
The most commonly accepted language, apart from the mother tongue, is English. Normally, multilingual countries translate material into other languages than the first language. A country can be multilingual because of its location as, for example, in the case of Belgium, or because of the labour migration as in Norway, Sweden or UK.
The most common materials that are translated are connected to employment and personal taxation matters.
6.2. Translated websites (languages, disabilities)
There are more and more IOTA Member tax administrations that have translated pages on their website than printed material. Normally, multilingual countries translate information on the website into other languages than the first language.
The most translated information is connected to employment and personal taxation issues as it is also available in printed material.
6.3. Group meetings / education
Majority of surveyed tax administrations have not developed special taxpayer education models for minorities. Some tax administrations reported about specialised information regarding tax matters delivered to smaller target groups at seminars or lectures.
6.4. Field working
This is an area which is undeveloped. Almost every surveyed tax administration indicated that they do not have any activity in field working, except, Poland and Sweden. Poland works with information in the hospitals, and Sweden has some work with information in prisons to prisoners and to foreigner’s organisations.
6.5. Service centres / contact points
This is the most developed service. Almost every tax administration has some form of contact centre. It is very common that there are some kinds of help for most of the minorities at the contact centres. Mostly, it helps persons with other languages. In some cases the service centres are equipped for the disabled persons as well.
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6.6. Direct communication (letters, mails, etc.)
It is not so common that minorities would receive information in letters in other languages. In Sweden and Norway, translated information is sent out to foreigners who own property. Azerbaijan also uses other language (e.g., English, Russian) for direct communication with taxpayers, and in Finland minorities are contacted in their language. However, it is not clear if disabled people will be contacted in some special way. • Text telephone service It is only Sweden that uses text telephone service to hearing impaired people. • Instruction films (video, etc.) Belgium and Sweden have instruction films about filing the income tax form in other languages. All the other tax administrations informed that they do not use this channel of communication. • E-learning A few countries such as Estonia and Sweden use this channel. Sweden and Estonia have e-learning programs on their website. • Advertising in mass media This is also an area that is undeveloped in many countries. As we can see from the results of the questionnaire, there are only three tax administrations (Sweden, Norway and Denmark) that use this channel. • Tools on website A lot of tax administrations use RSS on their websites and examples of such countries are Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Spain and Kazakhstan. RSS (originally RDF Site Summary, often dubbed Really Simple Syndication) is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works — such as blog entries, news headlines, audio and video files — in a standardised format. An RSS document (which is called a "feed", "web feed", or "channel") includes full or summarised text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship. RSS feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content automatically. A standardised XML file format allows the information to be published once and viewed by many different programs. They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favorite websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. RSS feeds can be read using software called an "RSS reader", "feed reader", or "aggregator", which can be web-based, desktop-based, or mobile-device- based. The user subscribes to a feed by entering into the reader the feed's URI or by clicking a feed icon in a web browser that initiates the subscription process. The RSS reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds. RSS allows users to avoid manually inspecting all of the websites they are interested in and, instead, subscribe to websites such that all new content is pushed onto their browsers when it becomes available. On the website of the tax administrations of Sweden it is possible to have information in sign language.
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Most tax administrations have a possibility to make page customisation on their websites. With “sharing links” option, it is possible to tell friends and other people about information on websites. More and more tax administrations use this functionality on their own portals. Sample of “sharing links” is Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, Digg and Plaxo. Some administrations that use such kind of functionality are Poland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and UK.
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7. WAYS AND METHODS OF IDENTIFYING PERSONS BELONGING TO MINORITY GROUPS
7.1. Approaches for identifying minority groups
Actually, we can distinguish principally four common approaches used by the surveyed tax administrations to identify people belonging to a minority group: 1. Persons belonging to such a group reveal themselves as such, because they are searching to get information, or want to be known as a person experiencing difficulties with the language of the country he/she immigrated in, or is willing to be registered as an ”official” person, so can benefit of some social advantages for herself/himself or/and for her/his family. 2. Tax administrations use information from databases of registered new taxpayers which shows that some of the persons can be considered as belonging to a minority group and in such case the tax administration can take the initiative to approach these persons with a specific method. This can be concerning the language, the kind of disability, the status of the person (e.g., cross-border worker, etc). 3. Use of customer surveys, as part of service quality evaluation, to obtain information on different minority groups. 4. Finally, different associations who are working in the social sector can pass the information to the Ministry of Finance and become as such the promoter of integration and identification of persons belonging to a specific kind of minority group.
7.2. Examples of country approaches
Although answers given to the questionnaire regarding this item are not very well described or explicitly detailed, still it is possible to mention the actions of some of the responding tax administrations, by ordering them to the three categories of promoters that are identified in the section above.
As most countries do, Belgium tries to combat illegal presence of persons on its territory. To do so, there are possibilities to connect to the National Registers of Population – where all people should be registered as an individual in a final database or in a temporary one, waiting for her/his immigration procedures being settled – or to the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, where all legally constituted enterprises and associations are registered. Access to all this information is regulated under the scope of privacy and allows the national tax administration to collect and use this person-related information. Belgium employs this information, completed by statements made during the process of taxation and recovery of taxes to identify minority groups and specific actions of communication are then launched to them.
Denmark declares that mostly taxpayers belonging to minority groups reveal themselves at their customer service centres when they are faced with tax liability. Tax officers in the local service centres seem to have enough experience to be able to answer the questions asked by taxpayers (or their advisors) belonging to such groups. The persons asking questions can do that either by telephone or by visiting the local centres.
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Also Germany indicates that most of the federal states analyse the special needs of minorities based on practical experiences and often expressed requests and critics, although the direct dialogue with the taxpayers plays a decisive role.
In France, Lithuania and Sweden, tax administration maintains close cooperation with dedicated associations or professional organisations that play a major part in identifying people who belong to a minority group. Indeed, those associations and organisations are usually the first ones to be contacted by minorities or by their representatives. It is them who become the liaison officers to the national tax administrations, in order to make this administration register these minorities as eventual taxpayers.
The United Kingdom (HMRC) has conducted a number of studies relating to the tax treatment of different minority groups, such as: “The experience of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities with HMRC services” (published by HMRC in February 2011), “Migrant workers’ interactions with welfare benefits: A review of recent evidence and its relevance for the tax credits system” (November 2010), "Ethnic Minority VAT Business Needs Survey” (2002). During the 2002 study regarding the taxpayers who have problems with understanding the official language, HMRC recorded 6.7 million people of minority ethnic origin (11.8% of the population) and at least 3 million people living in the UK were born in countries where English is not the national language. Since self-employed people do not need to register for work, it was estimated that the overall number of eastern European migrant workers was around 1.2 million. An analysis of data on migrant groups from many official sources was made: three nationalities seemed to be dominant – Polish, Portuguese and Indian; and three sectors of economy were concerned – construction, hotel and catering, and agriculture. HRMC proceeded with interviewing employer groups and had meetings with and paid visits to other government departments and agencies.
In Ireland, nationality is captured when registering for a Personal Public Service Number Language. This can help to identify the main translation languages. Concerning disability, the Irish tax system provides special allowances and exemptions from certain taxes and duties in respect of persons with disabilities of a permanent nature.
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8. ORGANISATIONAL POLICIES REGARDING SERVICE PROVISION TO MINORITY GROUPS
In the responses to the questionnaire, most of IOTA tax administrations outlined that the strategic/policy approach as well as methodology for service provision to minority groups is developed on central level. Cooperation agreements with different organisations and associations representing the interests of minorities are signed at the central level as well. Education, information and consultation services are provided through either contact centres (central and/or regional level) and/or local tax offices.
For example, in Denmark, the work is coordinated at the central level. The main decision- making body is the Ministry of Taxation. In this way they can ensure to keep to the same principles and course of actions. However, local initiatives are undertaken by customers’ service centres in the form of preparing or translating materials which, then, are spread to the entire organisation.
Most IOTA Member administrations – France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Ukraine – organise the work locally. In France, local directorates have the right to organise communication operations towards minority groups. They usually organise actions during the income tax filing campaign that takes place once a year, from April to June.
In Germany, usually the local tax offices organise appropriate measures on their own responsibility to the greatest possible extend. Many federal states have set up service contact points that can be easily utilised by disabled persons.
Six IOTA Members - Belgium, Lithuania, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden - take actions at both central and local level.
In Belgium, the centralised actions are mostly carried out by the internal communication services of the FPS Finances.
In Lithuania, besides some central measures, i.e., Tax Information Centre, there are education and consultation divisions in each of the county offices, which arrange special seminars and lectures.
In Spain, contacts with different associations and signing of cooperation agreements are organised centrally. Also, at central level, there is a joint committee that sets up the annual plan and evaluates the results of the previous one. On the other hand, the accessibility to buildings and some assisting services including sign language interpreters are carried out at local level.
In case of Estonia, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden, the work is mostly organised “in-house”.
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Besides the in-house work, some external activities are carried out in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Ireland, as well. In Belgium special consultants, experienced experts, are involved (“Service des créances alimentaires”) in rare cases. In Germany, in particular cases, tax authorities may require assistance from other administrations or external service providers such as translation services or the publishing of documents in Braille. Italy also uses the support of relevant associations, and Ireland does so for the periodic external assessment of their website.
In Bulgaria special consultants and instructors are hired for the work with minorities.
In Norway, the police, the Directorate of Immigration, the tax administration and the labour inspection authority have established a joint service centre, the Service Centre for Foreign Workers, which started its work on 12 October 2007.
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9. ONGOING AND FUTURE INITIATIVES TO ASSIST MINORITIES
Tax administrations are continuously developing special activities to provide service and support to minorities in three main areas, namely: • Website and translations; • E-services; • Accessibility to premises.
9.1. Websites and translations
Three IOTA Member tax administrations, Ireland, Spain and Sweden, plan to continue the improvement of the website.
Ireland wants to periodically involve external experts in modernising tax administration’s website.
Sweden intends to have more cooperation with different associations and organisations. They will also use the TV channel “Global”, which is popular within the community of immigrants, in order to communicate tax information in the language of different minority groups.
In Spain, the New Strategic Plan for Communication is being prepared, which will include a strategy towards minorities focused on improvement of accessibility, the development of the English version of the website and online office and strengthening relations with associations of immigrants including signing of agreements for social collaboration.
9.2. e-Services
The next important area to be improved for minorities is e-services.
In Lithuania, all the developments are associated with the new project on Electronic Customer Service and Education Information System where electronic services of the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance will be fitted for disabled or non-Lithuanian nationals.
Germany intends to implement e-learning for filling of tax returns online.
In 2010, for the first time, Belgian retired people received a pre-filled tax form to verify, sign and return. The proposed data could be accepted by signing or changed by sending back a standard form.
Estonia plans the development of e-environment and wants to provide new services and simplified procedures, e.g., the certificates on paper carriers and other paper documents are to be submitted and issued on electronic and digitally signed documents, as well as the flexible provision of services is to be organised and availability of services is to be ensured, taking into account also the needs of minorities.
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UK’s HMRC has a programme aiming at improving the quality of online customer service. As part of this initiative, all online forms are being made accessible to blind or partially sighted customers and online accessibility generally is being enhanced. Following the introduction of Equality Act 2010, HMRC is also reviewing its products and processes to ensure compliance.
9.3. Accessibility to premises
Public offices in Ireland are designed to comply with the legal requirements regarding physical access. The Irish tax administration also caters for the needs of persons with disabilities in the areas covered by the legislation. In Ireland, the main focus is to ensure that persons with disabilities are not disadvantaged when it comes to getting services or information from the tax administration. To ensure that services are accessible, it is important to be aware of the obstacles people with physical, sensory or learning disabilities have to contend with. Obstacles to accessibility for people with disabilities include a broad range of elements including, for example, communication where the information is presented in a format which is not accessible; the physical environment, e.g., design, layout, signage, lighting, etc.; the service design, e.g., where systems, procedures and practices can present obstacles. As regards the physical access to buildings in Ireland, regular surveys are undertaken to ensure that the buildings are maintained in line with the accessibility standards prescribed in legislation. In the past 2 years Ireland received two awards from the national disability authority, in recognition of the high standards of service accessibility provided for disabled customers.
The document "Concept of a Customer Service Place" has been adopted by the Estonian tax administration, which is regulating accessibility to the service bureaus either with wheelchair or baby pram. In the future, whenever the service bureaus are renovated or new ones built, special attention will be paid to making sure that either a lift or a wheelchair ramp is constructed in the building.
In Poland, the tax administration plans to continue adapting all its buildings to the needs of the handicapped.
In Bulgaria, officers of the territorial directorates / tax offices are assisting these persons when filling documents; and special platforms for disabled persons are installed in all the territorial directorates.
UK’s HMRC offers wheelchair access in most enquiry centres. If an enquiry centre does not offer this facility, they would arrange to meet the customer at another HMRC building, or will visit taxpayer at home.
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In Spain, a co-operation agreement has been in place since 2004, involving the Tax Agency and the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities and ONCE (the National Organisation for the Blind). Under this agreement, the tax administration approves an Annual Assistance Plan for People with Disabilities in agreement with these bodies. The plan includes information and assistance activities on the accessibility of the tax administration's website and offices, educational activities geared towards raising the awareness of Tax Agency staff with respect to the needs of this group, etc. In 2010, the main works undertaken were those relating to: a) Improving accessibility: In 18 of the administration's offices; b) Removal of architectural barriers: In 19 of the administration's offices; c) Improved usage of interior spaces: In 6 of the administration's offices."
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10. THE WAY FORWARD…
There are some different channels that can be used in the communication with success, if you want to have a direct specified communication.
10.1. Social media
Some tax administrations are already using social media for communication to the citizens, others are thinking about using social media and what policy they should have.
Facebook, Twitter, blogs, chats and other social media tools - these media are very direct and can be addressed to a specific group of individuals. The problem with communication through the social media is that the taxpayer must be sure that the content of information shared within social media networks is verified by the tax administration. It is very easy for people to launch a social media group on behalf of the tax administration and mislead the audience by providing incorrect tax information. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to identify who is responsible for information published on the social media groups. If a tax administration intends to start social media groups, then it is very important to have staff that could on a regular basis monitor and search for social media groups where erroneous information is published on behalf of the tax administration. Therefore, tax officials involved in the decision-making process should be aware of the fact that management of the social media channels requires significant amount of financial, time and human resources. It is important to underline that only individuals can open a personal account on Facebook as well as on Twitter and not the authority.
10.2. Apps and electronic signatures
Apps and mobile adjusted information are the emerging new information and communication channels. In a survey from Gartner it is described that in a global perspective people will surf via smart phones more frequently than via computers in the year of 2014, and in Sweden it will occur in 2013. Therefore, it is very important to have services in place that will ensure provision of mobile and suitable information. However, the volume of information published on a mobile adjusted information page is not the same as on the website. Information on a mobile adjusted webpage is prepared and published in a much shorter language because of the small surface on the mobile screen.
Apps can also be created to be used on tablets and the surface that you will adapt it to is something between a smart phone and a computer.
IOS, Android, Windows, Symbian and Blackberry OS are the most common operating systems for mobile phones. Right now, IOS and Android are the most used operating systems for smart phones and tablets.
To develop an App is no more complicated than create a webpage. There are two big systems where you can publish your App - on App Store and on Android market.
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Apps can be used as for e-services with or without security codes or with an electronic ID in the mobile. An electronic ID in the mobile phone can either be a solution for the Sim card, App or as software in the mobile. In future there can be a paradigm shift with the usage of electronic ID in our mobiles or smart phones. Tax administration could always know whom they would be talking to or whom they would have a communication with. In other words, tax administration could be reached from any location. For example, in October 2011, two banks in Sweden introduced a solution for electronic security (BankID) creating a BankID App for IOS and Android users. The Swedish Tax Agency is going to use that solution for identifying people when they file their income tax return electronically in 2012 and Sweden will start to develop functionality for smart phones with BankID to show different kinds of certificates, etc., written by a tax administration in the smart phone instead of writing it on paper. BankID in Apps will be in the market also in other Nordic countries in 2012.
With Apps it is also possible to personalise information. The biggest advantage with the Apps is the possibility to “push” information to the target user. You can push information and take away information whenever you want and the information will either be seen inside the App or directly on the mobile screen. Another possibility is that you can write information in advance and it will be published on the individual App on the date and at the time you want it to be published. It is also possible for the user to put in individual information that can be used as a source for the tax authority to specify information to the specific category of taxpayers depending on the needs of the individual or the needs of the tax authority. The App is a direct communication channel to the taxpayer.
The Swedish Tax Agency has created an App for the electronic income tax return. The App is both an information channel for those who have downloaded the App and an electronic income tax return with security codes. Over 230,000 persons downloaded the App and about 120,000 persons used the App to file their income tax return (95,902 with iPhone, 23,479 with Android and 6 - others). The Swedish App occupied the top position on App Store among 25 top listed Apps. In 2012, the Swedish Tax Agency is going to create an App with electronic ID on the mobile. The advantage is that App can be used worldwide and its functionality does not depend on a specific mobile operator.
Users of smart phones which have an identifying solution could be easily identified during their phone call to the contact centres. This opens opportunities for delivery of targeted information to taxpayers as personalised data obtained from the phone could be used in managing taxpayer relationship, e.g., sending tax information to the owner of a smart phone electronically instead of sending it through ordinary mail, etc.
SMS or mail can be a channel for direct and personalised information. With creation of a secure register where taxpayers could register their mobile phone number and/or their mail address and subscribe to specific information, it would be possible to channel individual information directly to the taxpayer.
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SMS, according to the magazine “Computer Sweden”, has over 2.4 billion users worldwide and over 74% of the mobile phones have functionality that supports SMS. SMS are, of course, a system for short information.
Information directed by e-mail creates more possibilities than an ordinary newsletter issued to the taxpayer. Privacy legislation in many countries makes it difficult for tax administrations to identify groups of persons who have some sort of disability and create a register of such minority group for a better and targeted service provision. On the other hand, it would be possible to deliver an electronic version of the same newsletter via SMS or e-mail system as long as a tax administration is given a demand for such information.
SMS or e-mail communication has the worldwide policy that the recipients have given the approval to sender for the contact and that the recipients have the possibility to cancel the messages. It should be stressed though that this field opens many opportunities for fraud as well.
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11. CONCLUSIONS
Responses of the questionnaires show that all tax administrations recognise the need and the importance of a dedicated approach in the field of handling the tax affairs of minority groups.
It strikes that almost all administrations distinguish especially the different ethical background and the difficulties with official languages as being the most frequent and visible criteria for defining communications strategies towards minority groups.
It seems that tax administrations mostly react to the needs of these minority groups by developing supposed adapted tools, such as translated websites or brochures, without actually measuring the effectiveness of such tools.
A lot of countries also provide adapted services to disabled people, but one can really hardly define these taxpayers as members of a minority group, since they are mostly absolutely “normal” taxpayers with only a kind of physical handicap: they are only deaf or hard of hearing or have speech impairment, or are blind or partially sighted.
In such cases most countries conform to the regulatory rules about accessibility of premises or about adapting websites in order to make them more user-friendly for these taxpayers.
That brings us to the reflection about wondering if minority groups actually want to be considered as minority groups, since it seems completely normal that immigrant or disabled people expect to be considered fully as citizens belonging to the country they live in. That would mean that tax administrations should be aware of their obligation of providing a suitable solution to all different situations, either they are concerning all taxpayers or rather so called minority groups.
In this kind of logic, one could indeed think that this would mean that also people who actually simply do not understand anything about fiscal affairs have to be considered as a minority group, while it is exactly the core mission of a tax administration to be able to explain about tax affairs and to communicate to all categories of taxpayers, including those who really do not understand at all about fiscal matters and their fiscal obligations or rights.
A more specific approach is reserved to cross-border workers, but these approaches mostly result from the legal need of finding a proper fiscal solution and agreement between the two countries that are involved in the fiscal life of these kind of taxpayers: it is mostly the state they live in and, on the other hand, the state they have chosen to work in.
Since a lot of neighbouring countries have conventions or even official tax treaties in which they have agreed on non-double taxation of income, it is absolutely logical that these settlements result in a very oriented form of communication towards these taxpayers. This approach is, therefore, in our opinion, not really the result of
50 IOTA Report for Tax Administrations – Handling the Tax Affairs of Minorities an administrative analysis about the need of dedicated communication, but is rather based on a regulatory obligation of doing so.
Responses to the questionnaires also show a great variety in organising approaches to minority groups: some tax administrations - but they are still a minority - really think about the problem and offer tailor-made solutions to all different kinds of situations. But, on the other hand, as said before, most of the countries do not seem to be aware yet of the necessity to invest in proper approaches or in stable solutions based on a real analysis of the sometimes very specific needs of a minority group. A clear example of this is the lack of generic approach available for prisoners.
For the future, we think that the greatest challenges will be in how countries and, especially, tax administrations will be able to coop with an enlarging mixed society that will stress the urgent need of dealing with different languages. The availability of human resources knowing these languages within the tax administrations seems to be one of the most appropriate solutions to this phenomenon. It means that tax administrations also have to think in a renewed way about some recruitment and about required skills.
It is also unavoidable that countries will have to follow very closely all developments in the technological environment: social media are conquering the entire world and the generations to come will find it very natural to expect that tax administrations will be able to take up this new challenge. Nevertheless, some people will never have access to these new forms of communication or will have serious problems to adapt to the speed that these forms of communications require. So, probably new species of minority groups will appear caused by drastic changing of the ways of communication and information.
As a general conclusion, we can agree about the further need for tax administrations to stay “awake” for new developments both in the ways that groups of people will continue to isolate themselves as “minority groups” and that the tremendously fast technologic evolution of social media will not offer on itself the appropriate solution for informing these groups or for organising the communication with them.
So, no doubt, the hugest upcoming challenge for tax administrations all over the world will reside in combining both aspects of this phenomenon!
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12. REFERENCES AND LINKS TO ANNEXES
12.1. References
1. European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (ETS-nr148 / 1992). 2. Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities (ETS-nr157 / 1995). 3. EU, Council Directive, 2000/78/EU (Article 13 and 26). 4. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (30 March 2007) 5. UN Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948) 6. Third Report submitted by Germany pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 2 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Council of Europe, 09/04/2009, ACFC/SR/III(2009)003 7. European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: Application of the Charter in Germany (Report of the Committee of Experts on the Charter), Council of Europe, ECRML (2011)2 8. Sveriges internationella överenskommelser, SÖ2008:26. 9. International Labour Organization (ILO), Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (10 June 2008), 10. International Labour Organization (ILO), Convention No. 169
12.2. Annexes
• Annex 1 – List of Officials in IOTA Member Countries to be Contacted regarding Information Provided in the Questionnaire • Annex 2 – Country Responses to the Questionnaire
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