Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Results — Continued

Goal 3: Fair, efficient and equitable administration that meets customers needs.

The Ministry is committed to meeting customers' needs by improving the regulatory and administrative frameworks for tax and debt collection. The Ministry will make improvements to ease the administrative burden on customers and to enhance the business climate within British Columbia.

Objective 1:

Improve the tax appeals process for administrative fairness and due process.

Core Business Area:

Executive and Support Services

This objective is intended to provide taxpayers with an impartial, fair and speedy resolution to their appeals of tax assessments.

These targets have been adjusted upwards from previous Service Plans as a result of increased audit activities, resulting in significantly more appeals being launched. In addition, the Mineral Tax Review Board was re-structured as an "appeal to Minister" process, adding a new type of appeals requiring attention.

Strategies:

1. Improve timeliness of tax appeal process to produce final decision.

Objective 2:

Reduce legislative and administrative requirements and streamline procedures.

Core Business Area:

Tax Administration and Collection

Debt Administration and Collection and Home Owner Grant

Executive and Support Services

This objective is intended to contribute to the New Era commitment to reduce unnecessary and non-essential procedures, forms, licenses and regulations that add to reducing the cost of dealing with government. This objective will improve regulatory burden on British Columbians and on businesses operating in the Province. Reduced and consolidated requirements are aimed at improving customer service, enhance Ministry efficiency and reduce costs.

These targets were developed under the Ministry of Provincial Revenue's reduction plan as established by British Columbia's Deregulation initiative, led by The Honourable Kevin Falcon, Minister of State for Deregulation, to reduce unnecessary red tape and regulation by one third from June 2001 to June 2004.

However, the target for the fiscal year 2004/05 has been modified to reflect the ministry commitment to implement all achievable regulatory reductions during the fiscal year 2003/04. Further reductions of a regulatory nature are not possible without potentially compromising the integrity of the tax system and jeopardizing revenues to government, although the Ministry is committed to exploring reduction opportunities through forms consolidation and other initiatives. Overall, at the end of the fiscal year 2003/04, the Ministry will achieve a regulatory reduction target of 21 per cent.

Strategies:

1. Eliminate unnecessary regulatory burden.