The Changing Role of Tax Service Providers in SME Tax Compliance
The landscape of tax services, traditionally provided by parties such as tax advisors,
accountants and other tax practitioners, is changing, thanks to new technologies and
services such as online accounting and filing, mobile devices, and machine-to-machine
communication. This may lead to more integrated tax systems, in which taxation is
part of the day-to-day operations of SMEs. This report provides an overview of relevant
technological and business developments and new service solutions. It also explores
how these influence SMEs, tax service providers and tax administrations – and the
way that they co-operate. Tax administrations can adopt different types of network
strategies for co-operating with tax service providers. The report identifies four
basic network strategies. In countries without an established tax service provider
infrastructure, such as developing and emerging economies, leveraging new technologies
(such as online services and mobile payment) may create new possibilities for providing
infrastructure that is both beneficial for SMEs and promotes tax compliance.