TAJ’s 2015/16 eCampaign reaps benefits

Tax Administration Jamaica’s (TAJ) eServices portfolio for the 2015/16 financial year indicates growth in the use of eServices in most areas. This is as a result of TAJ’s drive to change the culture of filing and paying taxes. This reflects a behavioural shift not only in the attitude towards paying taxes but also, paying taxes using non-traditional channels. Taxpayers continue to respond favourably to TAJ’s online services which were boosted by the expansion of the Revenue Administration Information System (RAiS) during the year.

The notable growth can be seen in the area of eFiling in particular which moved from 50,429 transactions in 2014/15 to 135,554 in 2015/16. This can be attributed to targeted education and service campaigns. Taxpayers requiring ‘hands-on’ demonstrations were offered eOne-on-One and eOn-Spot sessions, i.e. customised individual tutorials at taxpayers’ convenience. The response was overwhelming with almost 8,000 such sessions being conducted during the 2015/16 financial year. These strategies no doubt, contributed greatly to the increased enrollment and usage of taxpayers for eFiling and other online services.

The campaign was supported by the Phase 2 roll-out of the TAJ’s new tax system, RAiS, the Revenue Administration Information System. This phase gave taxpayers access to enhanced web services such as viewing their filing and payment history; creating a payment option; requesting refunds; and initiating TRN applications and validating TCC’s.

The table below gives an overview of the eServices portfolio’s performance:

eServices Performance FY 2014/15 & 2015/16 Activity YTD 14/15 YTD 15/16 % change Registration for eFiling 10,622 18,023 70% eFiling Transactions 50,429 135,554 169% ePayment Transactions 109,632 124,222 13% ePayment Value $13.9B $19B 36% Direct Banking Payment Transactions 20,662 19,871 -4% Direct Banking Value $131.2B $143.8B 10% Total ePayment Transactions 130,294 144,093 11% Total ePayment Value
  $145.2B $162.9B 12%