COPENHAGEN: Denmark will dismantle and restructure its tax authority Skat, transforming it into seven new agencies. The government announced the decision in response to a series of recent scandals.
The government said more staff and offices across the country will save the country’s dysfunctional tax administration.
Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Minister for Tax Karsten Lauritzen presented the government’s reform plan for the Skat tax agency on June 13.
The plan is titled “From One to Seven Tax Authorities” and will be implemented by 2021.
As reported by The Local, Skat has been plagued by various scandals in recent years, including a failed IT administration system, uncollected debts, fraud and incorrect real estate valuation.
For instance, Skat was forced to scrap tax collection via its electronic EFI system in 2015 after errors with the programme failed to collect owed money while also requesting expired debt. The system cost billions of kroner to develop.
The collapse of EFI and subsequent switch to manual administration led to the Danish state being owed 92 billion kroner (€12.5bn) in unpaid taxes.
Last year, the National Audit Office criticised Skat for the “weak and insufficient” management of accounts.
