Sep 22, 2022

CEF Tax Coordinators Discuss Importance of Knowledge Management

As part of our 2022-2026 strategic direction, we continue with discussions on the importance of systematic knowledge management that affects the performance of public institutions. Together with CEF tax coordinators, we reflected on the benefits a knowledge sharing culture can bring to their administrations. Experts from the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration also presented some examples of how they share knowledge internally and how they approach shaping of the knowledge sharing behavior among their staff.

Maja Tomšič Pavlič who leads the CEF tax learning program presented the CEF’s story of how over the years we have become skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge internally and externally. She emphasized the benefits a systematic approach to learning and knowledge sharing can bring to tax administrations and offered examples of how tax coordinators can apply some of the knowledge management principles also in their teams and institutions.

This discussion was complemented by the exchange of experiences on how legislation underpinning the work of regional tax administrations supports or hinders tax administrations’ daily operations. Specifically, we discussed the effects of the EU General Data Protection Regulation on the work of tax administrations, looked into possible ethical dilemmas that can emerge from gathering and processing big data (e.g. ethnic profiling), and finally explored whether existing organizational structures are adequate for achieving goals set in tax administration's overall business strategies.

This meeting was a continuation of the CEF initiative for developing a knowledge-sharing culture in tax administrations, which started in 2021. It was delivered online on September 21, 2022.