Customer service developments in the Irish Revenue OECD Taxpayer Services Sub- Group meeting Istanbul October 2006 Declan Rigney Owen Jacob

PAYE system in Ireland 2.2m taxpayers out of 4m population Net receipts €8.6 billion (20%) Most labour intensive tax to administer Cumulative PAYE/ no end-year annual return from PAYE customers Tax deducted at source from employees Employers key players Employees can make claims during year End of year claims

Introduction Problems with PAYE Phone service Correspondence Vision Minimise contacts Maximise self-service Make it as easy as possible Channel choice: web, phone, SMS texting

Contact channel volumes- all taxes

Low cost High cost Contact hierarchy RankPreference level Contact channel 1HighestNo contact = ideal 2Auto self-service 3Phone 4 5Fax 6Correspondence 7LowestWalk-in Strategy: move contacts up

PAYE phones Technology: VoIP Call treatment Voice recognition capture of Tax Identification Number Self service 24/7 (touchtone) Call queuing Messages for FAQs (e.g. time to wait) Call routing Screen pop (main systems integration)

PAYE self-service Full PAYE self-service facilities via web Simple low risk contacts using phone & SMS texting Request forms & leaflets Make low risk tax credit changes Change address Track status of correspondence

Mobile phone texting Step 1 credit A bin 200 Your claim for refuse charges tax credit is being processed. Claims may be subject to verification. Thank you for using Revenue’s SMS service. Customer enters required claim – here he’s claiming €200 refuse charges Step 2Step Customer sends text to Revenue number After initial validation, Revenue replies Step 4 After further validation Revenue automatically updates PAYE database

Self-service channel preference Jan Sept % 6 % 34 %

iC system No paper Instant on-screen retrieval of post “Screen pop” of caller’s post Less internal calls as post visible on any PC Automatic statistics More streamlined processing Integrates all contact channels (post, , SMS text & phone) Enables self-service correspondence tracking

Change management Small core team responsible Empowered from the top 2 from business & 2 from ICT Open & trusting working relationship Top ICT talent One leader – led from the front No red tape ‘Can do’ attitude Pushed changes in the business areas

The future… Technology is an enabler Extend self-service & iC to other taxes & duties Single Revenue phone number using voice recognition call routing? Contact centres?

Thank you