Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Results — Continued

Goal 2: Collection of all outstanding amounts owed to government.

When a taxpayer fails to remit amounts owed to government, the Ministry undertakes audit and enforcement activities. These activities assist in ensuring amounts owed are collected, deter customers who might otherwise avoid paying, and link directly to Goal 1 as a key factor in increasing voluntary compliance.

Outcome/Key Indicator:

This measure clearly identifies the outcomes of the audit, enforcement and collection work performed by the Ministry, separating revenue and accounts receivable for greater transparency. By maximizing incremental revenue and debt collection recoveries, the Ministry is able to support government's fiscal plan. The greater the monies received from audit and enforcement, the better able government is to support vital public services. Auditing, enforcement and collections achieve two main functions: ensuring identification of monies owed to government, and educating taxpayers and debtors on their obligations. Focusing resources on auditing ensures that revenues owed to government are identified, and improves the government's bottom line. Focusing resources on collection activity ensures that debts owed to government are collected, and improves the government's cash position.

Expected achievements are based on a combination of formulae and revenue and debt collection trends. Future year achievements decline due to phase-out of the Corporate Capital Tax for general corporations and front-end improvements supporting better billings and collections.

The net incremental revenue measure has been replaced with a gross incremental revenue measure; this measure is more easily understood and consistent with reporting on the ministry progress in achieving its goal of collecting all amounts owed to the government.

Reporting on gross rather than net incremental revenue performance clearly identifies the results of ministry efforts to collect revenues. The use of a net incremental revenue measure required netting of total ministry expenditures which includes revenue and debt collection. As these expenditures reflect different ministry activities the net incremental measure did not clearly reflect ministry performance in collecting revenues. By reporting on the gross amount of revenue collected, the ministry will be able to report performance in this area in a way that is consistent with Ministry goals and objectives.

Strategies:

1. Maximize monies received through audit and enforcement activities.

Objective 1:

Government receives the revenue it is due.

Core Business Area:

Tax Administration and Collection

This objective is about identifying all revenues owed to government so that taxpayers can understand and meet their obligations and government is able to balance the budget and support vital public services like health care and education.

Audit selection size and content varies from a review of grant application to complete field audits performed at the client's place of business. Audits are performed by a variety of Ministry staff ranging from clerical to professional designated accountants.

The Ministry uses the gross incremental revenue resulting from tax audit function, divided by the average number of auditors to produce annual assessment per auditor.

Strategies:

1. Ensure adequate auditing.

2. Focus resources on tax audit functions.

Objective 2:

Government receives the debt recoveries it is due.

Core Business Area:

Tax Administration and Collection Debt

Administration and Collection and Home Owner Grant

This is a companion to the objective above: it concerns the identification and collection of overdue debts owed to government. The more successful the Ministry is at providing incentives and assistance to British Columbians to meet their obligations, the less total overdue government debt exists, and the lower the average recovery per collector.

The Ministry has forecasted debt recoveries over the three years of the service plan and calculated the combined staff for tax and non-tax collections as at March 31, 2004 to produce the average payments recovered per collector.

The Ministry reports out on the ratio of total government overdue (Over 90 days) accounts receivable to total government accounts receivable to reflect its mandate to consolidate and administer all accounts receivable on behalf of government over the period of this service plan.

Data for the measure are obtained from Office of the Comptroller-General.

Strategies:

1. Focus resources on collection activity.