Nearly 70 Percent of Taxpayers Support Use of AI to Improve Accuracy of Filings, Accenture Global Survey Finds
February 20 2018 - 7:17AM
Business Wire
‘Digital tax assistant’ could prove especially
beneficial to 40 percent of taxpayers who reported making filing
errors
Nearly 70 percent of taxpayers in 12 countries said they would
use AI to improve the accuracy of tax filings, according to a new
study by Accenture (NYSE: ACN), which also found that more than 40
percent of taxpayers reported making a filing error in the last 24
months.
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About one in four tax payers is already
using AI in their lives today (Photo: Business Wire)
The Accenture Digital Taxpayers Research asked more than 6,500
taxpayers across Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America who
interacted with their tax authority in the prior 12 months about
their experiences with, attitudes about and expectations of revenue
authorities.
The findings indicate that in an era in which people around the
world expect easy and simple consumer experiences, tax rules and
regulations still confuse citizens. For instance, 38 percent of
respondents said they are not confident they pay the right amount
of tax, and 44 percent said they feel their tax knowledge could be
improved. While most respondents said they have limited contact
with their revenue authorities after filing a tax form, half (51
percent) reported contacting their revenue authority once or twice
in the past year, with 20 percent reporting three or more contacts.
The majority of contacts were to resolve taxpayer errors in
completing the form or reconciling payments due.
Despite this, taxpayers in all 12 countries seem happy with
their revenue authorities, with nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of
all respondents and nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of younger
taxpayers, ages 25- to 34 years old, reporting a positive attitude
toward their tax authority.
The findings also indicate that citizens would be comfortable
using AI in the tax-filing process. Two-thirds (67 percent) of
taxpayers said that if offered, they would use a “digital tax
assistant”—a virtual assistant, running in the background on any
device that could address any tax question with conversational
language and could, over time, become more intelligent and personal
about each taxpayer’s personal and professional tax situation.
More than half the respondents said they would be more likely to
use the digital tax assistant if it automated forms with basic
taxpayer information (53 percent), reduced or eliminated errors (55
percent), made the process of tax filing more convenient (55
percent), and decreased the amount of time to receive a refund (67
percent).
“With artificial intelligence starting to permeate nearly every
aspect of our daily life, from digital voice assistants to smart
home devices, revenue agencies also are looking to its potential in
their own operations,” said David Regan, who leads Accenture’s
global work with revenue agencies and tax authorities. “It won’t be
long before citizens will be able to talk to tax-expert automated
bots to understand and pay their taxes.”
An AI-based digital tax assistant could help tax authorities
improve or increase personalization of services, and seven in 10
taxpayers (69 percent) said that they want their tax authority
to provide them with more personalized services in the future.
Among the tailored services or experiences respondents cited
interest in are website content relevant and specific to the
taxpayer (cited by 73 percent of respondents); a personalized
opt-in service that verifies final tax return with the taxpayer
before issuing a refund (69 percent); and better awareness by
the tax authority’s customer service regarding personal tax
situations and past transactions, enabling them to provide more
tailored advice (66 percent).
“Advances in artificial intelligence, particularly natural
language processing, are creating the ability to support rich voice
conversations between people and technology,” Regan said. “The
implications for AI also extend to processes like audits, risk and
compliance management and the accuracy of prompts to taxpayers. AI
will radically alter traditional approaches to communication and
information processing.”
Methodology
The global Accenture Taxpayer Survey covers topics related to
the taxpayer’s experiences with, attitudes toward and expectations
from their respective federal tax authorities. The online survey
was conducted by Market Knowledge Online with 6,512 citizens in
Australia, Denmark, France, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom and the
United States who interacted with their tax authority in the last
12 months beyond simply filing their taxes. The majority (62
percent) of respondents were part- or full-time employees who had
to file a tax return; 12 percent were part- or full-time employees;
13 percent were self-employed or small business owners; and 13
percent were retirees.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company,
providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy,
consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched
experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries
and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest
delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business
and technology to help clients improve their performance and create
sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 435,000
people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives
innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us
at www.accenture.com.
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