Efficient and Sustainable Tax Administration of Kosovo (ESTAK) Year 3 - Quarterly Report April 15 – July 14, 2012

The program has transitioned from a team of 3 short and long-term expatriate advisors, 3 local advisors, and 3 translators to a team of 1 long-term expatriate advisor, 5 local advisors, and 1 full-time translator. The main achievements during the quarter include the development of TAK's taxpayer education "center of excellence" facility in Pristina, the merging of monthly employer wage withholding tax and pension contribution forms, and the expansion of e-filing. The ESTAK team has made significant progress in strengthening the capacity of TAK. The team has piloted the Managing Operations course, which was designed and delivered by ESTAK's HR Advisor. Feedback from the participants indicated that the course was essential for their development in implementing their tasks as team leaders. A new group of 15 candidates applied for the second round of the "train the trainers" program, and 12 of them were accepted by TAK's Training Commission. These trainers completed the curriculum development course and are due to attend the test writing and presentation & facilitation skills courses in August. The ESTAK team has also contributed to TAK's training activities during the quarter. The team assisted in identifying suitable internal management candidates to run and support the management training program developed by ESTAK. They also assisted with organizing and presenting customer service training for the Pristina 1, 2, and 3 taxpayer education/pensions staff selected for the new taxpayer education "center of excellence" in Pristina. The team arranged for a selection of TAK's training materials to be put on public display during the official opening of the "center of excellence" facility on 29 May 2012. In addition to the training activities, the ESTAK team has provided "on the job" training to select TAK staff on various technical aspects of the tax laws. This included preparing a summary note on recent tax law changes, preparing a technical guidance note for TAK technical staff on the tax consequences of changes in business ownership structure, and preparing comments on submissions by the Bankers' Association. The ESTAK program has also focused on improving management effectiveness. The team has assisted TAK in identifying suitable internal management candidates to run and support the management training program developed by ESTAK. They have also assisted with the induction of new Training Commission members and attended TAK Training Commission meetings. The ESTAK team has made significant progress in increasing taxpayer compliance. The team has assisted TAK with publicizing the changes that arose from a package of tax law amendments enacted during the quarter. This included facilitating the development of an "unofficial" consolidation of the VAT law so that TAK staff and taxpayers need only refer to one rather than two documents. The team has also assisted with the introduction of the new "one stop shop" process for tax/business registration by developing the Administrative Instruction that legally allowed for that development. The ESTAK program has continued to focus on strengthening the capacity of TAK and increasing taxpayer compliance. The program has made significant progress in both areas during the reporting quarter. The main achievements during the quarter include the development of TAK's taxpayer education "center of excellence" facility in Pristina, the merging of monthly employer wage withholding tax and pension contribution forms, and the expansion of e-filing. The ESTAK team has also contributed to TAK's training activities during the quarter and has provided "on the job" training to select TAK staff on various technical aspects of the tax laws.