Government

Digitalisation, Government, Tax

Tax administration: The ocean liner is changing course

4 minute read It’s easy to imagine tax administrations as big administrative beasts, slow to adapt to the challenges of an increasingly digital world, like cumbersome ocean liners requiring space and time to adjust their heading.

But the reality for a modern tax administration is very different. We saw this front and centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, with tax administrations delivering rapid and complex citizen support policies on an unprecedented scale. Less visible is the pace of digitalisation in tax administrations, which has only accelerated following the pandemic. We are seeing fundamental changes, integrating digital more and more into their core operating models and implementing world-leading practices. The results are lasting benefits for tax administrations and, ultimately, taxpayers.

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Government, National Accounts, Tax

A fiscal squeeze may be coming

5 minute read This analysis by John Mitchell highlights shifting government spending patterns over the past 20 years, with rising health and social protection spending, accompanied by decreases for education, defence and public debt transactions. But recent increases in long-term interest rates combined with the higher overall level of government debt will require governments to devote more of their annual budgets to debt service payments in coming years.

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