Finance Minister Edith Sitzmann on Wednesday presented the tax office Ravensburg as the "tax office of the future" (FiZ for short). "We are testing innovations from digital citizen service to communication with companies in five of the 65 tax offices. I am pleased that the tax office Ravensburg was able to convince with its application. In Ravensburg we develop and test the future of modern administration", said Edith Sitzmann. The Finance Minister, together with the Chief Finance President Andrea Heck and Frank Widmaier, Head of the Tax Office, presented the focal points.
"We are significantly expanding the service for citizens in the coming years," Sitzmann said. This will be made possible, for example, by appointment scheduling, call-back and video conferencing systems as well as the expansion of digital case processing. "Digital processing benefits the tax administration because it leaves more time for more complicated cases. And it is faster for the citizens", emphasised Chief Finance President Andrea Heck.
For this reason, the existing ELSTER service is to be significantly expanded. At so-called ELSTER points, citizens can ask their questions about the software during opening hours (such as authentication at ELSTER). "We want to bring ELSTER closer to citizens and make it easier to use," Sitzmann said. For this purpose, free WLAN would be available in the central information and acceptance office as well as in the waiting area, which would allow access to ELSTER.
The tax office Ravensburg at the Weingarten location is one of five tax offices in the state that are testing additional possibilities of digitalization. "I am pleased that we are one of five tax offices of the future. The employees here in Weingarten have made this possible with their creativity and commitment. We look forward to showing how tax administration can become more modern," said Vorsteher Frank Widmaier.
Background "digital@bw"
Digitisation is a central focus of the state government's work. To this end, it has launched an investment offensive: around one billion euros will be invested in digitisation during this legislative period. With "digital@bw", the first state-wide and cross-departmental digitization strategy was presented in summer 2017, which was created in teamwork by all ministries. Over the next two years, more than 70 very specific projects with a volume of more than 300 million euros will be implemented to anchor Baden-Württemberg as a leading region for digital transformation in Europe. One of the focal points of "digital@bw" is Administration 4.0. With www.digital-bw.de, the state government has also launched a central online portal as a new showcase for digitalisation.
