Driving digitalization in tax administration with AI
Bavarian State Minister for Finance and Home Affairs Füracker and UTN Acting Founding President Martin sign declaration of intent.
On Friday, 2 August 2024, Albert Füracker, Bavarian State Minister for Finance and Home Affairs, and Professor Alexander Martin, Acting Founding President of the UTN, signed a declaration of intent to initiate a comprehensive cooperation. This cooperation aims to achieve a significant objective: integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into public administration. The integration is expected to enhance the efficiency of tax administration, reduce costs and expedite processes for taxpayers.
“Making traditional administrative processes more effective, automating routine tasks, and optimizing personnel resources – we are pushing the digitization of tax administration even further! The cooperation established today with the University of Technology Nuremberg lays the foundation for joint research and development of new, future-oriented AI technologies and projects. Bavaria has top universities and a powerful administration – together we are leveraging the possibilities of digitization and AI! AI has already been in use in our tax administration for years, and now its application is being comprehensively expanded. A heartfelt thank you to all the initiators and participants who contribute to the success of our project with their expertise. We are shaping our Bavarian financial administration to be even more citizen-friendly, efficient, and capable in the future!” said Bavarian State Minister for Finance and Home Affairs Albert Füracker with enthusiasm.
Markus Blume, Bavarian Minister of State for Science and the Arts,highlighted the great opportunities and impact of AI research and education, which are particularly well funded in Bavaria, in this project: “More AI, less bureaucracy! The cooperation between UTN and the tax administration clearly shows that future technologies are not an end in themselves; they have a real benefit for people. We are pioneering at all levels. With UTN, we are building a unique AI university and doing everything we can to stay at the forefront of major technological developments. We want to shape artificial intelligence according to our values because only when an AI model is trustworthy can we use it in sensitive areas – such as in medicine, or state administration. This can increase efficiency and reduce bureaucracy. For tax returns, the old principle needs to be reinterpreted: formerly a beer coaster, today a smartphone.”
AI relieves employees – tax returns become simpler and faster
The memorandum of understanding is a declaration of intent by the two parties involved, UTN and the Bavarian Ministry of Finance, to collaborate closely in researching cutting-edge AI technologies. This aims to further advance the automation of administrative processes and increase the efficiency of the public sector, particularly in tax administration.
The core of the cooperation is a collaborative partnership in addressing the challenges faced by tax offices, such as the analysis and classification of tax documents using AI methods like pattern recognition and machine learning to automate processes. The use of AI in tax administration is primarily intended to significantly relieve the staff of tax offices by automating routine tasks, providing valuable support and allowing the expertise of the employees to be applied more effectively to complex issues. For citizens, this means faster processing times and a simplification of the tax return submission process.
New research lab ensures the highest data protection standards
The collaboration will also include the development of new AI models capable of drawing conclusions within legal and regulatory tax frameworks.
Given the sensitivity of data protection in public administration, a specialized and secure joint research lab will be established as part of the cooperation between UTN and the Bavarian Landesamt für Steuern. This lab will meet the highest standards for IT security and data processing. This ensures that all sensitive information, such as tax data, is subject to the highest security measures already implemented by the tax authorities and is handled confidentially. Sensitive information, such as tax data, does not leave the highly secured domain of the tax authorities.
Alexander Martin, Acting Founding President of UTN, adds: “The collaboration with the Ministry of Finance is an excellent example of how we, as a young university focusing on artificial intelligence, are addressing the challenges that society presents us with. With Professors Wolfram Burgard and Josif Grabocka, we have globally renowned experts on board who employ the latest state-of-the-art AI methods to solve real-world data-driven tasks. While public attention often focuses on AI-generated texts, images, or films, in this project, we are working on solutions that may not be loud and flashy but generate tangible benefits for many people.”
