This report examines how tax compliance strategies are evolving in light of new technologies, data sources and tools and also looks at how these changes might affect the role of audit and auditors in the future.

"Revenue administration is a major interface between the state and its citizens. A good revenue administration is, therefore, an important attribute of good government. As a result, in recent years, policy makers have become increasingly aware of the importance of policies that will promote business development while ensuring voluntary tax compliance. In the modern context, it is neither desirable nor feasible to examine or inspect every single taxpayer. The revenue administration, therefore, has to rely on effective management of compliance. Promoting voluntary compliance, achieved through a self-assessment system in which taxpayers comply with their tax obligations without intervention from tax officials, requires developing modern approaches to audits based on risk management. The impact of audits critically depends on a properly designed audit selection strategy focused on high-risk taxpayers to provide the most cost-effective outcome. This, in itself, contributes to promoting voluntary compliance. Risk-based country audits: approaches and country experiences are an important study of this critical revenue function of compliance management."--Publisher's website.

Audits provide essential accountability and transparency over government programs. Given the current challenges facing governments and their programs, the oversight provided through auditing is more critical than ever. Government auditing provides the objective analysis and information needed to make the decisions necessary to help create a better future. The professional standards presented in this 2018 revision of Government Auditing Standards (known as the Yellow Book) provide a framework for performing high-quality audit work with competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence to provide accountability and to help improve government operations and services. These standards, commonly referred to as generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS), provide the foundation for government auditors to lead by example in the areas of independence, transparency, accountability, and quality through the audit process. This revision contains major changes from, and supersedes, the 2011 revision.

This report is the ninth edition of the OECD's Tax Administration Series. It provides internationally comparative data on aspects of tax systems and their administration in 59 advanced and emerging economies.

Modern tax administrations seek to optimize tax collections while minimizing administration costs and taxpayer compliance costs. Experience shows that voluntary compliance is best achieved through a system of self-assessment. Many tax administrations have introduced self-assessment principles in the income tax law but the legal authority is not being consistently applied. They continue to rely heavily on “desk” auditing a majority of tax returns, while risk management practices remain largely underdeveloped and/or underutilized. There is also plenty of opportunity in many countries to enhance the design and delivery of client-focused taxpayer service programs, and better engage with the private sector and other stakeholders.

Experts discuss strategies for curtailing tax evasion

The eighth edition of the OECD's Tax Administration Series, this report provides internationally comparative data on aspects of tax systems and their administration in 58 advanced and emerging economies. The publication presents the results of the 2018 International Survey on Revenue Administration (ISORA), a multi-organisation international survey to collect national-level information and data on tax administration governed by four partner organisations: CIAT, the IMF, IOTA and the OECD. For the 2018 survey round, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to participate along with the four partner organisations.