Groundbreaking move by Irish to collect tax over the internet
The Irish government is to start collecting taxes over the internet this September in an ambitious project which will be watched closely by tax authorities around the world.
The Revenue Online Service (ROS) will start collecting both employers’ tax and VAT in September 2000 and employees’ income tax in 2001.
Taxpayers will be able view their statement of their account at any time over the internet.
It is Ireland’s largest electronic government project to date. The Office of Revenue Commissioners, responsible for collecting both income tax and VAT, has set a target of dealing with half its taxpayers electronically by 2005.
Taxpayers will pay their bills by authorising the collection of direct debits, thus avoiding the need to make payments directly over the internet.
Andersen Consulting has been contracted to run the project which is due go live for testing by taxpayers next month. Andersen Consulting is marketing the ROS system to other countries with the Office of Revenue Commissioners.
The UK Inland Revenue allows electronic filing of tax returns, but has not yet introduced plans for electronic payment.
Revenue unveils more details of discounts for electronic tax return filing