TAKS to simplify tax collection under new proposal

TAKS, the tax authority, is to simplify its tax collection procedures under a legislative proposal now open for consultation, Kringvarp Føroya reported.

The authority currently administers 51 laws, the oldest dating from 1894. The Ministry of Finance said all TAKS procedures would be reviewed as part of the Kjarnin information technology project to make operations more efficient.

The proposal would simplify and standardise the rules for collecting, recovering and calculating interest on claims owed to the state. The ministry said there were currently many different rules governing interest.

Several older laws would be repealed, with their provisions consolidated into a single law. The changes are also intended to make the operation and development of the new information system more efficient and enable more cases to be processed automatically.

Under the proposal, the sheriff would no longer have to authorise the seizure of tax debts.

The state treasury could receive more money than it does currently because the proposal would introduce compound interest on all claims. Compound interest is not currently charged on outstanding tax.