“Why couldn’t Estonia be the first country in the world where businesses would not have to declare taxes,” the head of Estonian Tax and Customs Board, Marek Helm asked at the board’s press conference, talking about the future of collecting taxes in Estonia.
The goal of Tax and Customs Board is to get rid of the now compulsory tax declarations by 2020. By then a new system should be implemented where entrepreneurs just have to check whether the data collected about them is correct. For this even a computer would not be needed – a mobile device is enough.
This means that the entrepreneurs would not have to declare the salaries paid any more – the data would be collected straight from bank transfers. The Tax and Customs board would compile a declaration automatically and analyse the data to find possible errors or attempts of tax fraud.
For implementing the new system changes in laws, as well as a change in the way of thinking are needed. At the same time a possibility for creating declarations like now will be retained for those wishing to do so, Helm said.
There are also plans to make it possible to declare the VAT automatically. But for this bigger changes in the way the VAT is calculated will be needed.
