"We want to significantly expand the service for citizens in the coming years," said Splett, adding that this will be possible, for example, through appointment scheduling, call-back and video conferencing systems as well as the expansion of digital case processing. "We want to use this to improve and expand communication between citizens, tax advisors and companies in the region with the tax office," explained Chief Financial Officer Andrea Heck.

In addition, the existing ELSTER service will be significantly expanded. "Citizens who have questions aboutELSTER will in future be able to get practical help directly at PCs in the tax office," said Splett. "We want to reduce inhibition thresholds and make it easier to get started at ELSTER," Splett continued. For this purpose, free WLAN will also be available in the central information and acceptance office as well as in the waiting area, which will allow access to ELSTER, she added.

One of the aims is for citizens to submit their tax returns electronically, thus providing the tax offices with an immediate basis for further electronic processing. This not only simplifies the work processes in the office and speeds up the procedure, but also conserves resources.

Bruchsal is one of five tax offices in the country that are testing additional possibilities of digitalization. "We are looking forward to showing how tax administration can become more modern. The fact that we were selected as one of only a few tax offices for this pilot project is thanks to the commitment and ideas of the employees here at Bruchsal," said Principal Dietlind Knipper.