Many people find the tax return annoying. But there is a motivating ray of hope: In the future, it could be tackled even more easily using an app.
The tax return via the state online portal “Elster” should also be possible with the cell phone in the future. “We are working on app solutions for “Elster”,” explained Luise Hölscher, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, to the German Press Agency in Münster today at the end of a two-day conference of state finance ministers.
She pointed out that there are already ways to photograph and record receipts. That is the way of the future. “In the future I have to be able to do my entire tax return on my smartphone,” she said.
Strengthen digitization
There will be a lot going on in the “next very few years,” she said when asked when such developments will be implemented and can be used by the public. “We have a lot of things in the pipeline, we are working on the so-called rollout plans,” said the State Secretary.
However, it is not only about the online portal “Elster”, but also about the investment programs in the tax offices. The programs are to be improved and require fewer work steps.
The Finance Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Doris Ahnen (SPD), explained that the tax authorities would have a considerable need for young people in the next few years. “We have to do a lot to strengthen the reputation of tax administrations again.” In addition, “considerable” investments must be made in digitization.
It must be implemented from start to finish in order to achieve “continuous automatic processing” of the cases. Many tasks in crisis management also ended up with the tax offices. Millions of additional cases have been processed during the pandemic.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
