The difference maker is the amount of data that can be “packed” in a QR code and what happens to that data after the verification. In TaxCore®, QR codes contain plenty of important data, all of which is shared with the TA upon scanning:

• Seller Identity
• Buyer Identity (usually just for B2B)
• Document Type and Total Counters
• Date and Time
• Invoice and Transaction Type (and their total counters)
• Encrypted Accumulated Totals (internal data)
• PKI-based digital signature

To understand just how useful this can be for the TA, let’s look at a short case study.

A short study on its usefulness

A taxpayer has been creating fiscal invoices but has not been reporting all the transactions regularly (which can happen unintentionally, due to equipment malfunction). In normal circumstances, there would be no way for a TA to know of this without a targeted field visit.

However, thanks to the comprehensive data shared with the TA and the blockchain approach in TaxCore®, it is enough for just one customer to scan the invoice QR code and all accumulated information about the previous invoices will also be transferred to the TA.

When information about a scanned invoice arrives at the TaxCore®, this invoice is stored in the system, which then checks whether it has received all previous invoices according to their unique invoice number. If some invoices are missing, a gap will be recorded in the system until all the invoices are properly reported. TA officers can use a portal interface for a quick and simple view of all the gaps.

The numbers in Range Start and Range End columns mark the unique numbers of invoices that have been stored in the system. In this case, all those invoices have been transferred to the TA via a QR code scan.

For this reason, there are no items in the stored invoice details. Nevertheless, because of the digital signature, there is non-repudiable information about the taxpayer and the unique invoice number.

TA officers can access the invoice’s internal data and see the accumulated total for previously issued invoices including the total number of issued invoices and total tax liability.

TaxCore® and taxpayer’s tax liability

As you can see, the proper application of a QR code on an invoice can be extremely helpful in identifying taxpayers who have not been reporting their transactions regularly. Even in those situations, TaxCore® users do not need to worry about losing information about the taxpayer’s tax liability.

The post Scanning QR code on invoices – how can it benefit all parties? appeared first on Dti.

In its 41st edition, CATA, or the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators gathered to debate what are the current concerns to member tax administrations and partner networks.

This entity, established in 1978, has the dedication of helping its 47 country members through conferences, training programs, publications and knowledge sharing to develop effective tax administrations that promote sustainable development and good governance.

One of the most important events that this organization regularly holds is the annual CATA Technical Conference, during which subject matter experts debate important policy and technical issues of current concern with member tax administrations in the fields of digitalization, compliance, and legislation.

Discussed topics

The main topics that these members discussed during the three-day session, this time held in a virtual format due to the Covid 19 situation, were the following:

• global tax reforms, simplified tax systems
• the use of technology to simplify tax systems,
• managing SME compliance through tax simplification,
• inter-revenue agency cooperation and
• benchmarking and revenue mobilization post-COVID.

Representatives from India, the United Kingdom, Mauritius, Canada, Kenya, Malaysia, Uganda, Malta, Nigeria, and Barbados contributed to the event with their presentations.

Data Tech International had the honor to participate once again in this annual event (the last one held in the wonderful Fiji Islands, see our other article) and they scheduled their intervention for the second day of the meeting under the title of: Simplified Tax Systems.

Goran Todorov, managing director of DTI, was the speaker from DTI, and in his presentation the utilization of the blockchain technology in taxation was the key aspect to future solving of the revenue gap that comes from underreporting, electronic sales suppression, and other fraudulent malpractices used to deceive the tax authorities. DTI’s TaxCore solution has already embraced this methodology as part of its core features. Main prerequisites for the use of Blockchain, which TaxCore brings to reality are:

• Records need to be digital – Blockchain is ostensibly immutable, so it is important to make sure that any existing data that is transferred onto the blockchain is accurate;
• Digital identity needs to be in place – to establish a strong connection between a person and their business operation;
• Laws and regulations – in case it doesn’t exist in the country, must have acceptance of electronic signature and establishment of Public Key Infrastructure;
• Digital literacy.

The need for digital literacy, laws and regulations, or political decisions might be more challenging for a digitalisation process than the technology itself.

The TaxCore® solution

Regarding this, we can deploy the TaxCore® solution today in any country, implemented in phases, systematically transforming and preparing the environment for the upcoming technology revolution such as Blockchain.

Once implemented, TaxCore® collects data from four different channels to perform audits on the invoices as per mini blockchain audit methodology.

Among its data collection processes there is the remote collection which is instant and needs an internet connection; the local collection allows audit packages upload when there is no internet connection available; the QR scan sends the information by scanning the invoice’s QR code (used by the customer to check their purchase and transmit the information to the TA) and the SE audit, that serves for the offline mode and it is the last resort in case there is the need to collect data that never left the merchant’s premises.

Mini blockchain audit methodology and TaxCore®

All of this data, which is always encrypted, serves to form counters that accumulate. The result of mini blockchain audit methodology becomes most valuable when a taxpayer’s premise goes offline and the data is not coming, in that case if any customer simply scans the QR code of an invoice provided by seller, it will show the gap. This example shows that even without a visit to taxpayer’s premise, in a seamless and comfortable way and from its desk, a tax authority officer can monitor and control the tax gap produced between the transition from online to offline intervals, and what is more important, to determine the tax liability for a particular taxpayer. Moreover, every kind of transaction issued has its own counters for every single taxpayer, ensuring that business is never disturbed in any way.

Finally, the speaker addressed the fraud detection by every customer by scanning each invoice’s QR code, which is yet another proposal to tackle the revenue gap and revenue collection issue.

In all these matters, the blockchain technology centers on the audit process and TaxCore® assumes it as one of its main working philosophies which can definitely help the tax authorities to discover all unreported taxes and know their taxpayers better.

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How does TicketBai works?

To be able to use TicketBai’s invoicing system, taxpayers will need to have a specific software validated by the Tax Authority’s institutions that can generate QR and TBAI codes in their receipts or invoices submitted. TBAI, which gives its name to the whole program, refers to the invoice’s ID number in the system’s database and proves the relationship between an invoice and its subsequently generated TBAI file. This file is then submitted to the Tax Authority certifying that the information was correctly received.

The invoicing software that taxpayers will need to use has to comply with the following criteria:

• Generate invoices for each product or service sold.
• Sign using a digital certificate that makes it possible to introduce the QR ad TBAI codes.
• The ability to send that information to the Tax Authority.
• Lastly, that it has the capacity of creating a BAI file.

Taxpayers who do not possess an invoicing software compatible with TicketBai will need to replace it with another new invoicing system that is able to adapt to these new requirements.

Why TicketBai?

The main focus of this new system is to effectively control the cash registers belonging to specific sectors handling with payments in cash and which were not doing receipts or legal invoices as expected.

The Basque Country’s Tax Authorities have estimated that up to 90% of small retailers follow the above-mentioned practices to evade taxation. For instance, in 2016, Bizkaia’s region reported to the Tax Authority to have discovered 450 million euros belonging to tax fraud in the year 2015 alone.

To foster this initiative and make everyone comply with TicketBai regulations, there will be two types of new sanctions: one for not complying with the law and another one for destruction, manipulation or data deletion. Sanctions vary depending on each case, but those not complying with the law will have to pay a penalty of up to 20% of their last year’s turnover, a minimum of 20.000€, regardless of their turnover capacity or type of business.

The tax authorities adopt a similar approach for those manipulating, destroying or deleting valuable data, in this case, penalties will amount to up to 20% of their last year’s turnover, a minimum of 40.000€ and they can affect both the supplier and the user of that invoicing system. In case of a repeated offender, sanctions will amount to up to 30% of their last year’s turnover in both cases and to 60.000€ minimum penalty for destruction, manipulation or deletion of data whereas for lack of compliance, penalties will reach a 30.000€ minimum. These are harsh measures that show how much the Tax Authority is willing to punish infractions and avoid fiscal fraud at all costs.

Any incentives?

There are incentives too; for those companies adopting the system earlier there will be a 30% income tax reduction or a 60% income tax decrease depending on the region in which those businesses are located, with a maximum deduction of 5.000€ for over one year.

Next step, Spain?

While in Spain there is not yet a defined project to extend this system, the idea is to implement it to the rest of the country progressively. This is due to the fact that the Spanish Tax Authorities have seen similar positive results in the rest of the European Union, and they have experienced also some good results by adopting the SII system that is now able to collect a third of the total VAT revenues in Spain augmenting them by 17%.

It is clear that with the advancement and proliferation of new technologies capable of monitoring tax activity as well as detecting tax fraud, more and more countries will invest in implementing similar strategies to foster tax revenue and avoid tax fraud.

TaxCore® and what it offers

With the successful implementation of TaxCore® in Fiji and Samoa, the Tax Authorities of those countries are sure to monitor and collect the tax revenues that are due to them from taxpayers, making sure also to fight against the gray economy, compensating and rewarding those who comply with the model. The system works perfectly with the Tax Authorities as the system sends the information in real-time and every receipt is verifiable. They ensure collaboration from the general consumer population by rewarding the ones reporting any discrepancies or issues they may experience with their invoices or receipts, as for each scanned or reported invoice consumers can win prizes from vendors, working as a lottery for them.

Taxpayers also benefit from this experience the system protects them from unfair competition coming from fraudsters, it minimizes the cost of compliance per taxpayer and sales point and it also improves and simplifies communication between taxpayers and Tax Authorities, as the system performs reporting in real-time making the tax administration more approachable and reducing the chances of misunderstanding from both sides.

To conclude, this new fiscalization system procedure adopted by the Basque Country’s Tax Authorities is a step in the good direction towards ensuring a proper tax return for this region. If well implemented, it will help them track down fraudsters easier and quicker, in real-time, making sure also that the resources that were previously dedicated to tax fraud investigation are used elsewhere where they are needed the most and engaging all actors in the economy to participate and collaborate towards the same goal, a just and effective tax system.

The post TICKETBAI – SPANISH BASQUE COUNTRY’S NEW SOLUTION appeared first on Dti.

Relationship based on trust and absolute transparency needs to exist between a taxman and a taxpayer. Not only is this the best tool in the fight against the grey economy, but it can also significantly increase a country’s tax revenue. Most importantly, it establishes an atmosphere where the same rules apply for every single taxpayer. This way, there is no unfair competition, which brings about a very healthy business environment.

DTI ensured that all of the three sides are equally satisfied; a local tax authority, taxpayers, and an every-day customer. All of the three present important factors in establishing a stable fiscal and tax collecting system. So once we ensured that a local tax authority got a secure fiscalisation system through which it can monitor taxpayers efficiently, how did we make sure that taxpayers get the exact same treatment?

TAP (Taxpayer Administration Portal)

The idea of TaxCore® is to not be disruptive to business, instead, its purpose is to further improve fiscalisation by improving the tax collecting system. It adds value to those who don’t have sophisticated ways of recording sales, yet it doesn’t disturb accounting.

Authorities usually opt to perform taxpayer enrollment process gradually – by putting taxpayers into groups, segmenting per size, business activity, geo location, etc., however we’ve seen a lot of taxpayers request enrollment voluntary. Why is that?

Once enrolled, a taxpayer gains access to the Taxpayer Administration Portal (TAP). It is a secure space through which taxpayers have insight into their business from the taxman’s point of view.

Taxpayers can use the TAP for issuing invoices, which eliminates the mandatory need for an Electronic Fiscal Device. Naturally, this goes for business owners to whom conventional ECR/POS or ERP isn’t necessary for registering transactions (very useful to real-estate, renting, accounting, law practice and similar business activities).

Taxpayer Administration Portal (TAP) is very user friendly too. Everything is extremely simple to use so an average taxpayer wouldn’t have to spend too much time on the portal itself.

What happens if I have multiple sales points?

TAP can also be of a great help to business owners with multiple sales points. Given that a Tax Authority requires (in countries where real-time transaction reporting is mandatory) constant connection, having an downtime can present an issue. TaxCore® provides a Tax Authority with 24/7 fiscalisation monitoring over its entire territory. If it happens that a certain business stops sending information to the server for a certain period of time, this can present a red flag for the enforcement. But, in such case, a taxpayer can simply log in to TAP, check if any location fails to upload, and perform corrective action to prevent undesirable visit. The tax authority will receive all transactions issued in the meantime, and both sides can continue functioning meticulously.

Thanks to the prerequisite of assigning digital identity to each taxpayer, which is part of the TaxCore® enrollment process, TAP offers various actions taxpayers can use to avoid filling out new forms, going to the local tax office for administration or receive visits by tax officers for no reason. One of such actions, we are extremely proud of, is the remote request for additional digital certificates or revocation of the ones who are no longer needed.

TaxCore® Thought of Consumers Too

Since both Tax Authority and taxpayers have proper systems to operate by, where does this leave consumers? Since this group is also a key factor in establishing a healthy economy, it is the duty of everyone to make sure we guarantee its rights.

That is why we developed the Customer Compliance Award Program. Each receipt issued with TaxCore® comes with a QR code a customer can scan. By scanning the receipt, they gain access to its electronic version. Thanks to this, a receipt can also be reported if a customer suspects something doesn’t seem right.

By reporting a receipt, a customer successfully becomes a part of a lottery which rewards them for their help to a Tax Authority. The rewards can vary for something small, such as a dinner for two, to something big, such as a car.

Thanks to this arrangement, TaxCore®, along with a local tax authority, provides fertile ground for a healthy system in which every group presents an important factor. And since every group is so crucial, we made sure to use technology into their favour. TaxCore® is your strongest ally in the fight against tax fraud and the grey economy and in your path towards fiscalisation.

The post Fiscalisation – Taxpayers compliance at work – Taxpayer Administration Portal (TAP) appeared first on Dti.

A Brief History

QR code stands short for Quick Response code, and it was first developed in Japan in 1994. The subsidiary Toyota lab named Denso Wave was its first home. Unlike a barcode, made out of one-dimensional lines and storing only about 80 characters of data, QR code is two-dimensional and has the capability to hold 100 times more data.

The barcode was created some 42 years before QR code came into existence, and in spite of proving its worth, the world needed something new – a better replacement. So it is no wonder that Denso Wave started to mark their car parts with QR codes so they could be easier tracked.

Naturally, it took a while for QR codes to take off, at first they weren’t the standard and were more or less limited to industrial applications only. However, in 2010, this completely changed.

The reason why it took so long for QR code to become a standard was exclusively because of the user experience. To scan a QR code, a user had to download a specific app made just for this. Considering a QR code contains the information in the form of a URL, the hassle wasn’t enough.

Most of the media in the USA and Europe kept slandering QR codes as a hit-or-miss technology, failing to realize the potential it has, and just how important it would become within a decade in the future.

On the other side of the world, in China, QR codes have already become a standard in technology and many companies started using it for their payments. And in 2014, the West realized just how big the concept is. And the rest is history; many apps such as Snapchat, Spotify, and Facebook started using QR codes first, and the food industry followed. However…

TaxCore Knew Better

Even when the majority in the West didn’t embrace QR codes, Data Tech International saw their potential. We realized that the QR code could be a great ally in the fight against the grey economy, tax evasion, and Vat Fraud. Moreover, it is the perfect shield that protects consumers’ rights, if used correctly.

TaxCore implemented QR in a way that it would appear on every single receipt issued, containing all the important information. The QR code contains a URL, which when scanned, shows a customer the digital version of their receipt. The receipt issued is very clear, and a customer even has the option to report it, should there be anything seemingly irregular.

By scanning the QR code, consumers are indirectly helping the Tax Authority know if a business tried to hide it somehow, without forwarding it to them properly. Although, TaxCore makes sure that the chances of this happening are extremely small.

Touchless shopping – a vital ally during the pandemic

What seems to be even more important nowadays, is the fact that using QR codes allows for touchless shopping, especially in times of pandemic.

Even though receipts should always be issued to a customer, as demanded by laws in all the countries TaxCore successfully works in, this doesn’t need to be physical. There is always the option where a customer can simply scan the QR code with their phone and have the digital version of the receipt on it. Thanks to that, the chances of transmitting the virus become minimal. We can easily achieve this by using the “customer-facing screens.” As far as B2B transactions go, they can also be fully digital, eliminating the need for a paper invoice.

In addition to that, if businesses motivate their customers to switch to cards instead of cash, the chance of infection will be minimal, which is crucial for the current situation.

QR Code Is the Future

This year, QR code has truly proven its worth, making touchless shopping easier than anyone could have imagined. And even once the pandemic is over, there will be so many new situations where we can put this technology to good use. Data Tech International will keep exploring in an effort to finding out how to put new technology to good use.

The post QR Code and Its Pandemic Importance appeared first on Dti.

Professor Richard Ainsworth of Boston University, an expert on international sales tax collection and fraud prevention, offered an overview of the extent of the problem at the forum on modernizing sales tax collection in NYS held by State Senator Liz Krueger in 2016. According to Ainsworth, New York State loses around a staggering $1.7 billion each year due to electronic sales suppression. “Zapper” software, which allows users to falsify sales receipts, previously came in the form of CDs or USB thumb drives, but increasingly sophisticated software is now available to download online, making it nearly impossible to track down producers. Professor Ainsworth’s written statement can be viewed here.

The zapper Case in Minnesota roots from New York City

Recently, a fraudster from NYC caused a lot of troubles for the Minnesota Department of Revenue. The authorities charged Mr. Hailong Li with manufacturing and providing Sales Suppression devices to businesses, helping them commit tax fraud. They elected this as the first case charged under Minnesota’s electronic sales suppression devices law enacted in 2017.

The specific software called “Happy World” helped business owners modify their sales records, enabling them to reduce the amount of sales tax they owed to the state without leaving one shred of audit trail. And although Mr. Li, the creator of the software, denies ever selling it to people since the law came to force in 2017, the authorities still arrested him due to firm proof that he did just that. He provided his customers with remote support using TeamViewer to log into their terminals and tweak the sales records. During the first investigation of Osaka Duluth, Minnesota Revenue officers seized a flash drive containing Mr. Li’s software program. The authorities discovered Happy World in a second criminal investigation of Shogun Burnsville and the third case of Raku, Inc.

According to this law, (Minnesota Statute: 289A.63.2(b), with reference to 609.03.1), a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison or $10,000 fine. Sometimes, it can be both.

Having firm and harsh laws against tax fraud is a very good way to fight it, however, it is usually not enough. Mr. Li is only one of the people caught red-handed; all over the USA, sales suppression devices and software keep preventing the States from collecting taxes properly. This is further feeding the grey economy, as well as endangering consumers’ rights. If a certain business owner isn’t paying sales taxes, shouldn’t this mean that the prices for the consumers are lower as well? No, it’s not.

How Can TaxCore Help?

TaxCore is not new to the American market. Moreover, it already works in the State of Washington. To be more precise, the State of Washington Department of Revenue has entered into an agreement with well-known restaurants – and its proving to be working effectively.

The authorities caught the owner of the restaurant using a sales suppression software, however, the plea that resulted in an agreement helped TaxCore enter the US market.The business owner accepted the implementation of a monitoring software into their restaurant. Naturally, by breaking the law, the fines were huge. The business owner even had to pay for all the taxes they tried to hide.

The reason why TaxCore was the one chosen as a monitoring system for the restaurant was due to its transparency and flexibility. The owner still had access to the full functionality of the POS, including plug-ins for popular delivery services, while the monitoring in the background is active.

In a developed country such as the USA, there are usually no issues with internet connectivity, which allows for business owners to connect to the Department of Revenue 24/7. This means that with TaxCore, the business digitally signs and directly forwards every single receipt issued to the DOR server.

TaxCore notices discrepancies

This leaves no space for tax and sales fraud because the system detects any discrepancies (e.g., the system will detect sudden gaps in forwarded receipts for a certain amount of time, mismatches with the POS ticket sequences, and similar issues). Even if the internet connection is unstable, using a secure element, TaxCore lets business owners save their receipts until the internet connection is back, without customers noticing because verification service will work regardless of the mode POS is in at the moment.

Moreover, TaxCore’s proof of audit technology can easily disable a business from issuing any receipts at all if the system misses or can’t audit some of them. Additionally, TaxCore’s receipts come with a customer scannable QR code (or in this case, a guest) and can easily report if something doesn’t sit right with them.

Using a taxpayer who committed tax fraud as testing grounds for a pilot project was a very good decision by the State of Washington. It proved that it is possible to educate and correct taxpayers easily, but more importantly, it proved that TaxCore is the perfect system that leaves no space for tax evasion. Years after authorities caught them committing tax fraud, the business owners in Seattle are still using TaxCore and are completely abiding by the law.

The post TaxCore vs Electronic Sales Suppression (ESS) Software appeared first on Dti.

What Is the Ultimate Goal of the Customer Compliance Award program?

Customer Compliance Award program certainly didn’t come out of anywhere, it is a result of a decade worth nerve-wracking and trying to find a way how to stop tax evaders. The ultimate point of the receipt is to protect the buyers’ rights, and that was its main goal ever since the beginning. By receiving the receipt, a customer knows exactly what they spent their money on, if there was a potential mistake in numbers, and if there were anything to be claimed for income tax refund.

However, as ambitious as this goal was in the beginning, not many countries went the same path. In developed economies, receiving a receipt regardless of if one’s purchasing goods or services, is mandatory. Moreover, customers will usually ask for one if by any chance they aren’t handed out. Unfortunately, this practice is not so common in the developing countries. To make things even worse, recent studies shows that receipt started to lose its worth in the 1^st world economies too as campaign to go paperless is waged intensively. It had started to become only a worthless piece of paper that people would take only out of habit, but most recently even that’s affected by the risk of Covid-19 virus transfer through paper.

So, in most countries we find that culturally people don’t ask for receipts, as asking for a receipt is often considered rude and as an act of mistrust. So, how can this mindset be changed? Surely only explaining to people why they should request a receipt won’t be enough?

And that’s where the CCA program comes in.

CCA Is Making the Receipt Valuable

The whole idea of the CCA program is to make receipts more valuable to the consumers, at least psychologically. This program has for a plan to create a type of customer lottery, where requesting and scanning a receipt can be rewarded with a pricy award.

The new receipts in the countries where TaxCore operates come with a QR code at the bottom; the purpose of it is to be scanned. By scanning it, the customer gets the right to take part in a lottery where they can win anything from a toaster to a car – depending on the sponsor.

The good side of it all is that customers become Tax Authority helpers. But note that this feature is TaxCore specific: if every receipt is scanned, it means it is double-checked and that the authority will have the full insight if a business is evading taxes or committing TAX fraud in any way. Additionally, customers are protected too, as they can even report a receipt they deem isn’t right. Reporting an invalid receipt also offers a chance to enter the lottery. This means that the customer’s compliance is greatly rewarded.

In Fiji, this practice is already proving to work. The businesses would often get into a blame game with consumers, often using tactics such as blaming them for mistrust or for not being ecology sensitive. This practice seems to be meeting its end.

What’s in It for Businesses?

Although at first sight it may seem like only the Tax Authority and customers are benefitting from the Customer Compliance Award program, that is not entirely the case. Businesses that decide to take part in this program see a great income in revenue.

By taking part in the program, businesses are actually promoting themselves and are putting their names out there – on the billboards and on the TV. They can base their entire marketing campaigns around CCA, making sure that the population knows about them and their efforts. This brings customers into their stores, where they can offer multiple discounts on multiple products on their own initiative.

The CCA program has been carefully crafted by people with great minds and ideas. Its point is to give something to all three sides (Tax Authority, customers, and businesses alike) while providing a perfect system at the same time.

Probably what’s most important among all this is that the local population is becoming aware of the new fiscal system. It is crucial that once a country implements a modern and digitalized fiscal and tax collection systems, the population is aware of it. This guarantees the protection of consumers’ rights, which further expands to customers regularly reporting any type of fiscal receipt discrepancies.

The CCA program is one of the best inventions and tools to help local tax authorities in their war against the stubborn grey economy. Once fully implemented, it nearly wipes out TAX fraud and potential consumer fraud.

The post Customer Compliance Award Program – How Does It Work? appeared first on Dti.

Retail businesses are completely revamping their stores and their entire business model, by making their environment safe zones. This completely changed the shopping experience, but it is mandatory and precautionary.

So, how do supermarkets achieve minimum contact within their premises exactly? Well, different retailers went for a different approach:

• Minimizing the communication between the cashier and the customer
• Completely eliminating the need for a cashier and encouraging consumers to use self-checkouts
• Additionally, minimizing the communication between customers and self-checkout attendants as much as possible
• Supporting physical distancing with proper signs put in the store and according to the law of the local government

While some retailers have taken the more expensive path of investing into the grab-and-go and delivery technologies, some are going for a less radical approach.

Others, however, have decided to give it a go with what they already own, only adjust it to the current epidemic. The good thing is that these changes are minor and somewhat easy to apply, therefore, the business model is not suffering too much.

As an example, here is how NCR is helping retailers who use their products deal with the new set of epidemic rules:

1. Touching the self-checkout screen as little as possible.

A self-checkout will now start working the moment a customer scans the first item, this eliminates the need to touch the screen. The same model is used when it comes to paying – the customer can simply insert the money into the bill slot without having to touch the “pay” button.

Similarly to this, the self-checkout will process an electronic payment the same moment a customer enters their credit or debit card. This goes without having to touch the “credit card payment” on the screen.

2. Advising consumers to use e-wallet whenever possible. Using e-wallet technologies eliminates the need to touch the screen. Sometimes, retailers develop their own e-wallet services which help speed up the process. However, more often, retailers will use the already established and safe services such as ApplePay or GooglePay.
3. Recommending self-checkout attendants to touch the screen as little as possible. For this cause, NCR developed an attendant program which minimises the need for an attendant interference in the self-checkout lane.

However, none of these options makes real touchless shopping, a reality.

How TaxCore helps?

Unfortunately, countries that have partnered with DTI for implementation of TaxCore also took a hit from the Covid-19 epidemic. As a result, shop owners are finding themselves in need of a touchless shopping solution. Luckily, TaxCore as a platform supports it.

Next to retailers in Samoa and Fiji advising that customers use cards whenever they can to eliminate the need for cash, according to legislation around e-invoicing the need for paper receipts is eliminated. Considering that cash and paper fiscal receipts have been proven to be one of the largest ways of the virus transition, it is important to find an alternative.

With TaxCore, receipts come with the capacity of being fully digital and instantly verifiable. If a retailer invests in the so-called “customer-facing screens,” they will still abide by the law while protecting the health of the local population. This screen can show the QR code which hides the Government URL to the digital version of the receipt in it. Once the customer scans this QR code, the receipt will be shown on their phone.

As for B2B transactions, the invoice can be forwarded via e-mail, also eliminating the need for physical, paper invoices, making touchless shopping, possible.

By using digital versions of fiscal receipts, combined with motivating your customers to pay using cards or e-wallets, you are greatly eliminating the chance for infection when it comes to both your employees and consumers.

It is vital to mention that many retailers worldwide have secured their self-checkouts and cash registers with an anti-bacterial coating. This coating eliminates most bacteria and must be changed only once every 6 months. It is an advisable option to further minimize the effect of the pandemic. Stay safe!

The post Touchless Shopping – Adapting to the New Normal appeared first on Dti.

VAT (Value Added Tax) has been a well-groomed system by many of the world’s richest economies for years. And once developing countries witnessed just how much VAT can help their rising economies, implementations were in order.

The system just might be even more important in developing economies as it makes it very difficult to evade taxes. And not only that, but it maintains doing so in a very gentle manner, one in which taxpayers are not harshly punished.

When we speak about major economies of the world and how well they use VAT, one would think that the USA would be the pioneer of this system. However, surprising to many, the USA is probably the only developed economy not taking advantage of VAT. Why is this the case, and how much is the economy suffering because of it?

According to The Revenue Statistics 2019, developed countries collect 34% of gross domestic products in taxes, whereas the USA collects about 27%. In most of the developing countries, however, this number ranges from 10% to 20%. The reason behind this is quite obvious, it is harder to collect taxes in developing economies due to a lot of economic activity being informal.

But, when it comes to realizing the importance of tax revenue, there is absolutely no difference between the USA, or, say, Bangladesh. Everyone realizes tax collection plays a crucial role in the overall infrastructure, health, and education of a country.

This is where VAT comes into play.

The Importance of VAT

VAT taxes personal income, only indirectly. Governments collect VAT from businesses, and not households. This leads to a much higher tax collection numbers as businesses naturally bring in more income than an average household – especially in developing countries.

Moreover, in these economies, a lot of people tend to be self-employed, which brings about many problems taxing them. They also often falsify their reported income.

So why might the USA need the VAT system if it is a developed economy? Mostly because the country is losing a lot of money annually by not having this system at all. The IRS estimates that over 60% of self-employed people have their income underreported.

Unlike a sales tax, VAT is paid at every point production stage instead of only at the point of sale. This means that the VAT as a system easily enforces itself.

However, this system brings us to one crucial problem; if a customer is buying a product, they don’t feel obliged to ask for a receipt. This is because they can’t deduct the cost from their income the way businesses can. Therefore, many B2C transactions remain underreported, which presents a significant issue for the local tax authority.

Is There a Solution for the lack of VAT in the USA?

The Government of Fiji in collaboration with TaxCore came to a perfect solution to motivate consumers to ask for a receipt. It presented the CCA (Customer Compliance Award) program. This is a fiscal lottery which a customer can enter by scanning the QR code on the receipt. This way, all the receipts are issued, and customers are helping the tax authority further confirm them by scanning.

If the USA were to ever decide on the implementation of a VAT system, having a good, transparent platform such as TaxCore could bring billions in tax revenue. Moreover, the CCA program would motivate both consumers and vendors to comply. The first would be eligible for rewards, and the latter could build up marketing campaigns around it.

The post The Lack of VAT in the USA and the Problem It Presents appeared first on Dti.

Adding the QR code to the bottom of a fiscal receipt gave consumers the freedom to scan it and see all the data. This also further verifies the digital version of the receipt, which is forwarded to the tax office as well.

Sometimes, however, it may happen that what you see on your physical receipt and what you see on the page when you scan the QR code doesn’t quite add up. In this case, TaxCore encourages all consumers to immediately report the receipt. Doing this could also win you a prize, so you will be rewarded for helping your tax office.

How to Report a Receipt

After scanning the QR code, you will land on a page that shows the digital version of your receipt. You will find the option to report on both top and bottom of the receipt.

We split this process into five easy steps:

1. Contact Details

This is where you’re supposed to identify yourself by providing your full name, phone number, and e-mail address. This way, you can easily be contacted should you win an award. Most importantly, discretion is guaranteed.

2. Upload the Picture of the Receipt

This step will prompt you to upload a screenshot or a photo of the receipt as a legitimate proof. The maximum picture size is 5mb, so you shouldn’t have a problem uploading it.

3. Reasons for Reporting

It is vital that an inspector knows why the receipt was reported and what makes it suspicious. You can choose between many reasons – such as location being different, wrong date and time, the amount for a tax item being wrong, etc. You can choose multiple options should there be more than one irregularities on the receipt.

4. Provide More Details

This step is optional and if you wish you can skip it. We added it simply so customers can describe their experience and what lead them to suspect the receipt.

5. Enter the Captcha

In this last step all you need to do is prove that you’re human. Once you enter the code, feel free to click on the finish button and the tax office will immediately receive your report. Our programmers ensured that your report looks very visible to inspectors so they can react at their earliest convenience.

By reporting receipts that look inaccurate, you’re helping tax authorities in your country, and are serving an important role in the fight against the grey economy. If you wish to know more about TaxCore and its many features – feel free to contact us here.

The post TaxCore Reporting a Receipt – Presenting a New Feature appeared first on Dti.