In the multi-year plan of the Tax and Customs Administration, the ICT capacity is ‘fully planned for the coming years’, writes State Secretary Van Rij (Finance) in a letter to the House of Representatives. “This means that during this government’s term of office there is, in principle, no room for major policy changes without adjusting the planning.”
Further delay modernization
If the government still wants major changes in which the Tax and Customs Administration plays a role, the modernization of the ICT systems will take longer. The question is whether the planning will be achieved anyway, warns Van Rij.
“I am aware that some measures can only be realized by the Tax and Customs Administration,” writes the State Secretary, “and that measures must sometimes be implemented as quickly as possible. However, replanning will lead to inefficiency, because the requested specialist ICT capacity is no longer available. corresponds to the changed demand.
The tax authorities have been facing major problems for years due to outdated IT systems. They are gradually being updated and improved. In 2018, more than half of the systems suffered from overdue maintenance, in 2022 this was just over a quarter.
A number of large systems still need to be modernised. This is a complicated operation that is carried out in small steps, says Van Rij, ‘so that there is more control over these projects’.
‘Shop remains open’
The Tax and Customs Administration itself emphasizes that the systems are being modernized ‘while the shop remains open’: the systems must continue to work in order to collect hundreds of billions in taxes every year.
Van Rij is pleased that ICT is improving, but points out that unexpected events may cause delays. This may concern a court decision, such as at the end of 2021 with the capital gains tax, but also measures resulting from a crisis situation.
Technology moves on
Another ‘note to modernization’, according to Van Rij, is that technology is constantly improving and changing. This creates new opportunities, but ‘it also means that ICT that is still in order today may need maintenance next year’.
At the beginning of last year, Van Rij said he expected that the systems would be able to process large-scale tax changes again from 2025.
