The tax authority plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) in the same way it already employs big data and other technological advances to help taxpayers, fight fraud, and improve compliance. Yet this use will always involve human oversight. For automated administrative actions issued by the tax agency, decisions will never rely solely on the output of an AI system. In every case, humans will supervise, validate, or even veto the AI’s suggested options. In short, all final decisions are made by people.
This approach is part of the agency’s strategic plan for 2024 to 2027. The organization does not abandon AI but treats it as a transformative technology essential for improving effectiveness and efficiency. The emphasis is on information provision and taxpayer assistance, and on preventing fraud while enforcing tax and customs rules. Importantly, human staff will lead these processes and exercise judgment as needed.
The use of AI is framed within the government’s National AI Strategy, introduced in 2020 with initial funding of about 600 million euros from European Next Generation funds. Its strategic aims include integrating AI to boost productivity and the overall functioning of public services and the interfaces that connect businesses and citizens. This alignment highlights AI as a tool to strengthen public administration rather than a stand-alone solution.
Member states and the European Parliament have reached an agreement to regulate AI usage through a regulation designed to promote investment and innovation while ensuring that European Union AI systems are safe and respect fundamental rights and European values.
The objective is to align AI use with the agency’s vision, mission, principles, and objectives, and to develop it within the current regulatory framework over the next four years. The plan stresses that AI adoption will focus on improving citizen services and administrative efficiency. It also emphasizes principles of equity, objectivity, and consistency in the agency’s actions, along with the ongoing investigation and development of AI to support rationalization, economy, and effectiveness across the public sector.
The strategic plan underlines that these efforts will be implemented under responsible governance and a human-centric approach. This is presented as a guarantee of safe and ethical AI use, ensuring citizens’ rights are protected, compliance with the regulatory framework is maintained, and ethical principles and the agency’s values guide the deployment. Security and governance of AI are identified as another core pillar.
Following these guiding principles, AI projects will be developed by cross-disciplinary teams that include functional experts, IT professionals, and data scientists. They will be integrated into the tax authority’s technological infrastructure and deployed in a manner consistent with the internal software development model. Oversight will come from the Tax Informatics Department, and specific methodologies will be used to cover the full lifecycle, ensuring quality and governance. Only high-quality data will be used in AI systems, and human supervision of both development and use will be continuous and thorough.