Survey of PAYE taxpayers, 2015

Transcription

1 Administration, vol. 64, nos 3/4 (2016), pp doi: /admin Survey of PAYE taxpayers, 2015 Seán Kennedy Statistics & Economic Research Branch, Revenue, Ireland Gerry McGuinness Statistics & Economic Research Branch, Revenue, Ireland Martina Shirran Statistics & Economic Research Branch, Revenue, Ireland Introduction This report presents the results from a survey of PAYE taxpayers conducted by Revenue s Statistics & Economic Research Branch (SERB) between September and October A total of 5,000 letters were issued to taxpayers. The response rate was 26 per cent. This is the third such survey, following those conducted in 2007 and 2010, which means that some results can be compared over time. 1 Objectives Understanding the PAYE taxpayer population, the largest component of Revenue s customer base, is important for the tax administration to fairly and efficiently collect taxes and duties. A key objective of the survey was to quantify the views of the PAYE taxpayer population on a number of aspects of Revenue s customer service. These include satisfaction and awareness of Revenue services, including online resources and PAYE Anytime, in addition to attitudes towards tax compliance. 1 Results of Revenue customer service surveys are published at about/publications/survey-reports.html. 93

2 94 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN Summary of methodology A detailed methodological approach was undertaken to ensure rigorous analysis and representative results. A summary of the methodology is outlined in this section and summarised in Figure 1. Sample selection Before a random sample can be selected, the sampling frame the total population of PAYE taxpayers from which the sample is drawn must be identified. A number of objectives were important in drawing the sample: i. ensuring that the sample was fully representative of the PAYE population; ii. without comprising objective one, selecting sample taxpayers who were well placed, and likely, to respond to the survey questions; and iii.maintaining, to the highest extent possible, consistency with the previous PAYE surveys. Based on a comprehensive filtering exercise, a final sampling frame of 1,566,475 was identified (from administrative tax records) from which to select a random sample of 5,200 taxpayers. Figure 1: Summary of methodology Phase I: Survey Design & Development Phase II: Selection of Sample & Issuing of Survey Phase III: Data Collection Phase IV: Data Analysis Phase V: Finalisation of Report & Dissemination 1.1 Consultation with relevant business areas across Revenue 2.1 Selection of Sampling Frame (1.6m taxpayers) 3.1 Collection and recording of survey data 4.1 Contextual Economic Analysis and Descriptive Statistics 5.1 Drafting of PAYE Survey Report 1.2 Design of Survey Format & Questions 2.2 Data Cleaning (e.g. removing businesses in receivership) 3.2 Data Quality Check 4.2 Trend Analysis, Dissemination and Presentation of Findings 1.3 Design of Covering Letter 2.3 Selection of Random Sample (5,200 taxpayers) 4.3 Text Analysis of Open-Text Questions 5.3 Publication of PAYE Survey Report 1.4 Printing of Survey Forms & Letters 2.4 Selection of Random Sample for Behavioural Experiment (500) 4.4 Analysis of Behavioural Experiment 1.5 Design of Behavioural Economics Experiment 2.5 Issuing of Letters in Sep and Reminders in Oct 4.5 Econometric Modelling and Segmentation Analysis

3 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, Representativeness Ideally, in ensuring the representativeness of the sample, it was important that the characteristics of the sample matched closely to the characteristics of the PAYE population. There were a number of ways to do this, including by comparing distributions of selected characteristics in the sample (5,787) to the sampling frame (1,566,475). Note that the random sample was reduced to 5,200 by removing inappropriate cases for survey (i.e. foreign cases, cases in liquidation or bankruptcy, and deceased cases). For the purpose of this exercise, geographical location (Revenue districts) was examined (Figure 2). On the basis of this distributional comparison, the results show a close match, which provides confidence that the sample was likely to be representative of the PAYE population in Ireland. Figure 2: Comparison of districts PAYE sample and sampling frame Response Rate 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% Cork East Kildare South City South Dublin North City Fingal Galway/Roscommon Sligo Kerry Wicklow Mayo Wexford Cork North West Westmeath/Offaly Waterford Galway County Cork South West Meath Limerick Kilkenny Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown % Sampling Frame (1.5m) % Random Sample (5,787) Clare Donegal Tipperary Louth City Centre Cavan/Monaghan Survey issue The survey issuing process was as follows. Each taxpayer received a survey form, covering letter and business-reply envelope, sent on 1 September The covering letter, which indicated a closing date of 14 October, included a survey link that could be used to complete the survey online. 2 On 30 September, taxpayers who had not responded to the survey 2 The online survey was hosted by a survey company, SurveyMonkey.

4 96 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN received a reminder letter. 3 As part of the survey letter issue, a behavioural science randomised control trial was conducted, which is outlined later. Response rate Figure 3 shows the postal and online response rates. 4 Overall, the response rate was 1,345 (25.9 per cent), above the level of the 2010 survey and above the industry average for postal surveys. Of those that responded, 87 per cent (1,176) were postal and 13 per cent (169) online. 5 Due to a relatively low response after the initial letter issue, a number of changes were made to the reminder letter, including simplifying the letter and improving the method for completing the survey online. 6 These changes had a significant impact on responses: doubling the total numbers responding per day compared to the first letter issue and leading the response rate to increase from 11 per cent to the final 26 per cent (Figure 3). A number of comparisons with previous PAYE surveys are useful. In the previous two PAYE surveys, taxpayers could only respond by post. In the current survey, taxpayers had the option of responding by post (returning the completed survey in a freepost envelope) or online (by following the survey link in the covering letter). There were thirty-two questions on the 2015 survey form. The number of survey questions for the 2007 and 2010 PAYE surveys were sixteen and thirty-seven, respectively, while the response rates were 38 per cent and 19 per cent. Data management and processing In order to manage survey responses efficiently, survey letters were opened on a daily basis and compiled into packs based on the date received. The cut-off date for responses was Friday, 30 October The total number of surveys submitted (online and postal) on that date was 1,345. A total of 312 surveys were returned unopened (DLOs). A sample (81 cases) of the 3 The reminder letter again included a survey form, business-reply envelope and a survey link that could be used to complete the survey online. 4 Responses were received from 3 September and were recorded on a daily basis. 5 The online response rate was unexpectedly low at 2.8 per cent compared to the postal. One possible reason is that respondents were asked through a postal channel to respond via an online channel. 6 Three steps were taken to increase response rates: (i) the reminder letters were issued on headed stationery; (ii) a new way of accessing the online survey was put in place (the survey link brought respondents first to a page on the Revenue website which explained the purpose of the survey rather than directly to SurveyMonkey); and (iii) the reminder letter was reworded to abbreviate it to the greatest extent possible and to emphasise the 14 October closing date for responses.

5 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, Figure 3: Number of responses, by post and online, 3 Sept to 29 Oct Responses /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /09/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/ /10/2015 Online Responses (169) Postal Responses (1176) DLO cases was checked to ascertain why the letter was not delivered, and in some cases the address was updated before the reminder letter on Wednesday 30 September was issued. SurveyMonkey was also used for the manual data capture of the postal surveys. The data quality of these was checked: 100 cases were chosen at random to be inputted again. The 100 cases were checked against the original input data to ensure consistency. A total of 84 per cent of these cases had less than five inconsistencies. Out of 1,345 surveys submitted (post and online), some were either incomplete or entered on SurveyMonkey incorrectly during data entry. The valid sample for the purpose of this analysis was 1,301 (26.02 per cent). Context Employment and demographics in Ireland It is important to view the survey findings in the context of Ireland s economic performance, and in particular the performance of the labour market, during the survey period (September to October 2015). By September 2015, employment in Ireland had grown significantly by 56,000, or 2.9 per cent, over the year. At the same time, employment was 1.96 million and the labour force was 2.18 million. Figure 4 shows demographics of PAYE respondents, based on the information provided in the survey responses, for gender, highest level of education and age.

6 98 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN Figure 4: Demographics A. Gender B. Highest Level of Education % 57% % Male Female 1 5% Primary Secondary Third level 35% 3 25% 2 15% 1 5% C. Age 29% 26% 23% 11% 7% 4% Over 66 Note: In 2015 survey, 1,264 responded to the gender question, with 721 reporting as female and 543 as male. In terms of education, 1,251 of the 1,301 surveyed answered. In terms of age, 1,257, or 97%, responded to this question. According to the analysis, 57 per cent of respondents were female and 43 per cent male. In terms of educational attainment, 54 per cent had a third-level qualification, 40 per cent second-level and 5 per cent primarylevel. A total of 95 per cent had education levels of secondary and above. Also, 89 per cent of the survey respondents were aged between twenty-six and sixty-six, while 4 per cent were aged under twenty-six and the remaining 7 per cent were aged sixty-six and over. It is also possible to view the results in an international context. According to the HRMC Customer Survey , 79 per cent of individual respondents had dealt with HMRC in the previous year and 31 per cent had dealings in the three months prior to the survey (HMRC, 2015). While the HMRC report showed a high dependency on phone contact (82 and 93 per cent), it also showed that the majority of cases who contacted them only once were by phone (73 per cent). The response rate to that survey was 20 per cent.

7 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, Customer satisfaction Revenue invests significantly in maintaining and improving customer service delivery. One of the main objectives of this survey was to quantify levels of satisfaction among PAYE taxpayers. Respondents were asked a number of questions relating to overall customer service satisfaction, Revenue s ability to explain tax credits and entitlements, and whether it was easy to claim tax refunds and credits. A total of 68 per cent of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the service they receive from Revenue, while 23 per cent somewhat agreed that they were satisfied, indicating an overall satisfaction rate of 91 per cent. This level of satisfaction equals the last PAYE survey conducted in 2009 and As shown in Figure 5, of those who responded, 66 per cent, 68 per cent and 67 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the overall service from Revenue in 2007, 2010 and 2015, respectively. Of the 11 per cent of respondents that were unsatisfied in 2015, 2 per cent strongly disagreed with the statement regarding satisfaction with Revenue s overall service. Figure 5: Satisfaction with Revenue customer service, 2007, 2010, % % 15% 1 Strongly Disagree 2% 4% Disagree 5% Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Agree Note: Total response rate was 1,237 out of 1,301 for this question. Strongly Agree PAYE taxpayers satisfaction with Revenue remains high and has been remarkably stable since 2007, despite dramatic changes in the economy over the period.

8 100 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN Satisfaction levels by taxpayer type Satisfaction levels with Revenue s service across different segments of the PAYE taxpayer population measured by earnings by decile show there is little evidence to suggest satisfaction levels change by income levels. Similarly, no significant differences by gender were observed. Regarding educational attainment, the highest satisfaction was among respondents with primary (72 per cent), secondary (68 per cent) and then third level (66 per cent) qualifications. By region, the highest satisfaction levels were in East South East region, with the lowest in the South West region. Those contacting Revenue in the previous twelve months tended to have higher satisfaction levels, and satisfaction rates generally rose with age regardless of whether the taxpayer had contacted Revenue. Of respondents aged between twenty-six and thirty-three, 57 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with Revenue customer service compared to 75 per cent among those over the age of sixty-six. However, among those over the age of sixty-six, satisfaction was only higher if they had contacted Revenue. Those not contacting Revenue in the age cohort had lower satisfaction levels. Figures 6 and 7 show satisfaction levels and the proportion of respon - dents reporting that it was easy to claim credits by age. Satisfaction levels tended to gradually increase with age, particularly after fifty. The variation in satisfaction levels also declined with age; that is, younger respondents tended to have more extreme high and low satisfaction levels with Revenue service but older respondents more closely clustered around 75 per cent satisfaction. The proportions reporting that it was easy to claim tax credits by age followed a similar pattern. However, the proportionate increase in those reporting that it was easy to claim credits increased significantly among those in their mid fifties, peaked around sixty-seven, before declining thereafter. Separately, an analysis of satisfaction levels by vigintile (equal groups of twenty in terms of pay), not shown, suggested that the very top earners reported higher satisfaction levels. Perceptions towards tax administration A total of 53 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Revenue explains tax credits and entitlements in a way they can understand. This compares to 41 per cent for the same question in the 2007 survey, indicating a significant improvement in communication with PAYE taxpayers over the period. 7 Respondents were also asked if they found it 7 Where feasible throughout the analysis, comparisons were made to the 2007 and 2010 results. However, for example, in some cases no similar questions were available for comparison.

9 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, % Satisfied with Service Figure 6: Satisfaction levels, by age Age Figure 7: Ease in claiming tax credits and entitlements, by age % Reporting Easy to Claim easy to claim tax refunds, credits and other entitlements. About one in five (19 per cent) expressed some degree of difficulty claiming refunds, tax credits and other entitlements (marginally higher than the 18 per cent that expressed difficulty with Revenue s explanation of tax credits and entitlements). Age

10 102 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN Table 1 outlines a number of questions on respondents perceptions towards Revenue s administration of the tax system. Of those who responded, 85 per cent strongly agreed, agreed or somewhat agreed that Revenue carries out the administration of the tax system fairly. Only 14 per cent broadly disagreed. In terms of Revenue being able to detect people not paying the right amounts of tax, 79 per cent agreed, strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement. Notably, only 6 per cent strongly agreed that if they wanted to report fraud or illegal activity to Revenue they would know how to do so; 41 per cent reported that they would not know how to do so. Table 1: Perceptions of tax administration Question Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly agree Agree agree disagree Disagree disagree (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Revenue administers the tax system fairly Revenue is efficient Revenue is able to detect people not paying right amount of tax If I wanted to report illegal activity to Revenue, I would know how to do so Note: Total responses for each of the questions above were 1,223, 1,222, 1,196 and 1,209, respectively, out of a total of 1,301 surveys returned. Other information sources Respondents were also asked, Other than Revenue.ie, what other source(s) or resource(s) do you use when you have a query about your tax? To which, 24 per cent of respondents answered Citizens Information Service, followed by family or friends (22 per cent) and their employer (22 per cent). The least preferable resource for people to obtain informa - tion relating to tax was through Internet discussion forums (5 per cent; Figure 8).

11 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, Figure 8: Sources for tax queries other than Revenue.ie Citizens information services 24% Friends or family 22% My employer 22% Search engines 17% Tax agents & accountants 1 Internet discussion forums 5% 5% 1 15% 2 25% 3 Note: Multiple response categories per customer were included. A total of 1,784 were recorded. Numbers of responses for each category Citizens Information Service to Internet discussion forums were 433, 303, 392, 83, 172 and 401, respectively. Customer contacts and preferred channels This section examines responses to a range of questions relating to channels of communication between taxpayers and Revenue. A number of questions were asked regarding taxpayers contact with Revenue. The survey began by asking respondents if they had contacted Revenue in the last twelve months. The main results, and the results of the same question in previous PAYE surveys, are shown in Figure 9: 61 per cent contacted Revenue in the twelve months prior to the survey; 39 per cent did not. The proportion contacting Revenue was down from 72 per cent in 2010 but up from 46 per cent in Of those contacting Revenue, 34 per cent of respondents were from the Dublin region, while only 16 per cent of the survey responses were from the South West region (Figure 10). Reasons for contacting As illustrated in Figure 11, the four most common reasons cited for contacting Revenue in the previous twelve months were: for the purpose of claiming tax credits and relief (38 per cent), claiming a tax refund (23 per cent), requesting a PAYE balancing statement (22 per cent) and updating personal details (19 per cent).

12 104 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN Figure 9: Share of respondents contacting Revenue % Made contact Did not contact 6 61% 5 54% 4 46% 3 39% 2 28% Note: Not all individuals responded to all questions. For the purposes of this result, only responding (non-blank) businesses were included (95% responded). In the 2015 survey, 758 (61%) reported as having contacted Revenue in the previous twelve months, while 726 (72%) and 885 (46%) had made contact according to the 2010 and 2007 surveys. 4 35% Figure 10: Region of respondents contacting Revenue 3 25% 34% 2 15% 1 26% 23% 16% 5% Dublin East South East Border Midland West South West Note: 758 respondents contacted Revenue in 2015; 755 were identifiable by region.

13 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, Figure 11: Reasons for contacting Revenue Claiming tax credits or relief 38% Claiming tax refund Requesting Balancing Statement (P21) 23% 22% Updating personal details 19% Sending in tax return form Paying LPT Getting info about LPT Requesting a form Getting Information about PAYE or USC Other Registering an employment Paying tax due 4% 12% 12% 12% 11% 11% 8% 7% Note: A total of 1,276 individuals responded to this question. Responses for each category Claiming tax credits or relief to Paying tax due were 285, 175, 163, 142, 90, 89, 88, 80, 80, 60, 55 and 33, respectively. Contact demographics Those in Dublin were, on average, more likely to contact Revenue while those in the South West were less likely. Those with third-level degrees were more likely to report contacting Revenue. Older taxpayers were consistently less likely to contact Revenue, particularly those aged over sixty-six. Higher-earning PAYE taxpayers were generally more likely to contact Revenue (particularly the top decile reporting 69 per cent) while lower-earning taxpayers were less likely to report contact with Revenue (55 per cent for bottom decile). Overall, the results suggested that the most typical PAYE taxpayer contacting Revenue was from Dublin, educated to third level, younger and with a higher income. Channels of contact and channel satisfaction Respondents who had contacted Revenue in the previous twelve months were asked to indicate how many times had they used the following methods of contact: telephone, letter, or MyEnquiries, and calling in person to a Revenue public office. It should be noted that Revenue s new MyEnquiries service, an online contacts facility that replaced secure , was launched shortly before the issue of the PAYE survey. Therefore, responses to the survey reflecting contacts in the previous twelve months would not be expected to properly

14 106 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN reflect customer interaction with this service. Likewise, the rollout of myaccount, the new single access point for Revenue s secure online services (excluding ROS), only began after the issue of the survey. Overall, the most frequent use of contact was by telephone, followed by calling in person, and or MyEnquiries. A total of 62 per cent of respondents didn t use letters. Also, 32 per cent of respondents that used telephones contacted between two and three times, and 7 per cent contacted between four and six times (Figure 12). It should be noted that it is likely that different types of issues may be raised through the various contact channels, making direct comparisons imprecise. Figure 12: Methods of contact used with Revenue in the previous twelve months Telephone 2% 7% 24% 32% 35% More than 6 Times 3% 2 35% 52% 4 to 6 Times 2 to 3 Times Once Calling in person 1% 2% 11% 29% Didn t Use 57% Letter 1% 1% 9% 27% 62% Note: For each of the categories (telephone, or MyEnquiries, calling in person, letter), 602, 349, 366, 396 responses were received. Multiple responses per individual were allowed in this question. Those who contacted Revenue in the previous twleve months were asked to rate their levels of satisfaction with the service they received from each method of contact used. The highest levels of satisfaction were recorded with or MyEnquiries, where 93 per cent of respondents stated they were either very satisfied, satisfied or somewhat satisfied. This was closely followed by letter contact, with 91 per cent of respondents satisfied with the service they received. Levels of satisfaction were also high with telephone contact (86 per cent) and calling in person into a Revenue office

15 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, (88 per cent). Within the groups, the highest response for very satisfied levels were observed for those who called in person to a Revenue public office: 46 per cent reported as being very satisfied, with only 3 per cent reporting being very dissatisfied with the service received (Figure 13). The highest levels of dissatisfaction were reported with telephone contact, in which 14 per cent of respondents stated they were very dissatisfied, dissatisfied or somewhat dissatisfied with the service they received. This compares to contact, in which 8 per cent of respondents in this category reported dissatisfaction. Figure 13: Satisfaction with method of contact Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied Somewhat Satisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied Telephone Letter Calling in person Note: For each method of contact telephone, letter, and calling in person a total of 489, 152, 186 and 191 customers, respectively, indicated satisfaction levels. Preferred methods of contact Respondents were asked to indicate their preferred method for contacting Revenue for twelve selected reasons. The responses were not mutually exclusive. The results presented in Table 2 show that the online channel is the preferred method of contact with Revenue for all purposes, typically followed by phone and then letter. Respondents had a strong preference for an online channel for accessing tax records and relatively weaker

16 108 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN preference for responding to a Revenue enquiry (where it is about the same as the preference for telephone). However, for particular contacts such as sending in tax returns, letter contact was important. Table 2: Preferred methods of contact with Revenue Contact reasons Online or Call in channel MyEnquiries Letter Telephone person (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Accessing tax records Tracking your correspondence Information on tax and entitlements Requesting a form Updating personal details Paying tax due to revenue Sending in your tax return PAYE Balancing statement (P21) Claiming a repayment Claiming tax credits or reliefs Registering an employment Responding to Revenue enquiry Note: The responses to individual contact reasons ranging from the categories Accessing tax records to Responding to Revenue enquiry were 1,034, 1,021, 1,104, 1,181, 1,093, 992, 1,012, 1,087, 1,080, 1,128, 993 and 1,048. Responses were not mutually exclusive and may not sum to one hundred. Local Property Tax Respondents were also asked whether they had contacted Revenue in the previous twelve months regarding the Local Property Tax (LPT) via telephone. Of the 1,301 respondents, 763 replied to this question. Of these, 128 (17 per cent) answered Yes and 635 (83 per cent) replied No ; the remaining 565 respondents did not answer this question. Over 89 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the service received when contacting Revenue by telephone in relation to LPT, while 11 per cent disagreed with the statement either by somewhat disagreeing, disagreeing or strongly disagreeing (Figure 14).

17 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, % Figure 14: Satisfaction with LPT contact by telephone 4 43% 35% 3 25% 2 15% 1 5% Somewhat Disagree 3% Disagree 6% Strongly Disagree 15% Somewhat Agree 31% Strongly Agree Agree Note: Only 128 customers reported having contacted Revenue in relation to LPT via telephone in the previous twelve months. Of these, 125 stated their level of satisfaction. Reasons for dissatisfaction The survey also asked, via an open-text box, if the respondent was dissatisfied in any way with Revenue s customer service and to indicate the reasons for this. Free text responses are difficult to quantify but the two most common categories raised related to difficulties understanding tax credits and entitlements, and to waiting times (and service provided) on the phones. Revenue s online services Of the many channels of contact and information Revenue provides, online service has become an increasingly effective mechanism for the provision of services to Revenue customers. These services not only include the interactive facilities through PAYE Anytime and the Revenue website but through , Twitter and other online mechanisms for disseminating information. 8 8 As noted in the previous section, the survey was issued shortly after the new MyEnquiries tool launched and before the rollout of myaccount, hence the results at best partially reflect the views of customers of these services.

18 110 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN Revenue website The survey participants were asked, Have you accessed the Revenue.ie website in the past 12 months?, to which 540 (42 per cent) answered Yes. They were then asked, What was the purpose of your visit to the Revenue.ie website? A total of 84 per cent indicated that they accessed Revenue.ie for the purpose of either accessing Revenue s online services or to find out information about taxes and entitlements; 38 per cent of respondents accessed Revenue.ie to download forms and leaflets; and 29 per cent accessed the site to find Revenue contact details. Only 24 per cent of respondents accessed Revenue.ie in the previous twelve months to find information regarding LPT, while the least common reason for accessing Revenue.ie was to register for a secure or MyEnquiries. PAYE information Respondents were asked their opinions regarding PAYE information. Those surveyed were asked to rate their level of agreement with the following statements: Information for PAYE taxpayers is easy to find on the Revenue.ie website and Information for PAYE taxpayers on the Revenue.ie website is easy to understand. The responses are illustrated in Figure 15. The results show that 92 per cent of respondents agreed to some degree that PAYE information was easy to find on Revenue.ie, while 88 per cent of those who responded believed that PAYE information was easy to understand on Revenue.ie. The analysis of reasons for dissatisfaction was conducted by grouping open-text responses related to dissatisfaction in each survey into categories. Grouping text categories in this way provided a quantitative assessment of respondents views and opinions over time. According to the results in 2015, 26 per cent of dissatisfaction-related comments were attributable to difficulties understanding tax credits and entitlements, 24 per cent were due to long phone wait times and 18 per cent were due to the tax system being difficult to understand. 9 In previous surveys, 8 10 per cent of dissatisfaction was associated with a lack of knowledge of staff while 9 4 per cent was associated with slow response rates. These proportions have declined dramatically in 2015 to 4 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. The proportions commenting that long wait times were causing dissatisfaction have also declined, from 33 9 While the question sought comments in relation to information on the Revenue website, some of the responses reference issues relating to the phone lines or face-to-face contact.

19 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, Figure 15: Ease in finding and understanding PAYE information 5 Easy to understand Easy to find Strongly Agree Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Disagree Note: A total of 526 responses were received for this question. Strongly Disagree per cent in 2010 to 24 per cent in Relatively higher proportions of respondents indicated dissatisfaction in 2015 due to the tax system being difficult to understand. PAYE Anytime One section of the survey focused in detail on PAYE Anytime, an online service for individuals who pay taxes under the PAYE system. PAYE Anytime is a secure and convenient way for people to manage their taxes online that offers Revenue customers a number of resources, including the facility to view tax records, claim tax credits, submit an annual tax return, declare additional information, reallocate credits between self and spouse, and update personal information. Among the many benefits of this service are an immediate update of tax credits and the ability for people to manage their tax affairs in a secure and speedy manner free of charge. A total of 296 of those surveyed answered Yes to having accessed PAYE Anytime in the previous twelve months. Of the 1,272 (approxi - mately 98 per cent of those surveyed) who answered this question, only 23 per cent of respondents had accessed PAYE Anytime in the previous twelve months. Figure 16 shows the reasons for accessing PAYE Anytime. Viewing tax records and claiming tax credits and reliefs were the most common reasons

20 112 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN cited and represented 30 per cent and 28 per cent of the responses, respectively. The least frequent reasons (of those listed on the survey) for accessing PAYE Anytime were tracking correspondence and declaring income, which only represented 7 per cent and 5 per cent of stated cases, respectively. Figure 16: Reasons for using PAYE Anytime Viewing tax record 3 Claiming credits or reliefs 28% Requesting Balancing Statement (P21) 19% Updating personal details 12% Tracking correspondence 7% Declaring income 5% Note: Percentages may not add to 100 as respondents selected multiple reasons for contacting Revenue. A total of 622 responses were received for this question. Numbers of responses for each category from Viewing tax record to Declaring Income were 187, 175, 117, 73, 41 and 29, respectively. As illustrated in Figure 17, 94 per cent of users stated they are satisfied to some degree with the service, either by agreeing, strongly agreeing or somewhat agreeing with the statement I am satisfied with the PAYE Anytime service, while only 7 per cent reported being unsatisfied with the service. In terms of the reasons for not using PAYE Anytime, over 45 per cent of the respondents in this category cited not being registered as being the main the reason. This was followed by 20 per cent of respondents who did not have Internet access and 14 per cent who had concerns about submitting personal details over the Internet. An additional 14 per cent of respondents cited the loss of their PAYE Anytime pin for not using the service.

21 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, Figure 17: Satisfaction with PAYE Anytime 5 51% % 2 12% 1 3% 2% 2% Strongly Agree Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree Note: A total of 296 responded to this question. Online access and use The survey asked detailed questions on the use of social media, Internet competencies and other online resources to contact Revenue, as well as online resources provided by Revenue such as its Twitter account and YouTube channel. Survey participants were asked, How do you use the Internet? Please tick all that applies to you. The options included: on a desktop computer or laptop, on a tablet computer (e.g. ipad), on a smartphone and I do not access the internet. The most popular method used by the survey participants to access the Internet was through a desktop computer or laptop, followed by smartphone and then tablet (Figure 18). Approximately half of those surveyed used social media and paid utility bills online, while 69 per cent used online banking. These are illustrated in Figure 19. Participants were asked whether or not they were aware that Revenue operates both a Twitter account and a YouTube channel: 93 per cent of respondents were not aware of the Revenue Twitter account, while 95 per cent were not aware of the Revenue YouTube channel.

22 114 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN I do not access the internet Figure 18: Internet access and use 357 On a tablet computer (e.g. ipad) Note: Multiple response categories per customer are included. A total of 1,830 were recorded. 390 On a smart phone 885 On a desktop or laptop 8 Figure 19: Social media and online resources 7 6 Yes No % 52% 49% 48% 69% 31% Use social media Have utility bills online Use online banking Note: For each category, totals of 1,269 1,234 and 1,249 responses were recorded.

23 Survey of PAYE taxpayers, Conclusion Revenue s PAYE Survey 2015 was conducted between September and October Over 5,000 survey forms were issued to a random sample of PAYE taxpayers, drawn from a population of 1.5 million. The overall response rate was 26 per cent. The survey is the third in a series of PAYE surveys since 2007, which means that some results can be compared over time. The objective of the survey was to gather information on a number of areas, including (i) customer contact with Revenue, (ii) the use and knowledge of Revenue s online resources, (iii) preferred methods of contact with Revenue, and (iv) overall customer satisfaction and attitudes towards tax compliance. The main highlights from the survey were as follows: 61 per cent of respondents contacted Revenue in the twelve months prior to the survey. The proportion contacting Revenue was down from 72 per cent in 2010 but up from 46 per cent in The most common reasons cited for contacting Revenue in the previous twelve months were to claim tax credits and reliefs (38 per cent), claim a tax refund (23 per cent) and request a balancing statement (22 per cent). 68 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the service they received from Revenue, while 23 per cent somewhat agreed that they were satisfied, indicating an overall satisfaction rate of 91 per cent. This level of satisfaction equalled the last PAYE survey in per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Revenue explains tax credits and entitlements in a way they can understand, compared to 41 per cent for the same question in the 2007 survey. This suggests a significant improvement in communication with PAYE taxpayers over the period. Of those who responded, 85 per cent strongly agreed, agreed or somewhat agreed that Revenue carries out the administration of the tax system fairly. The most frequent contact method is telephone, followed by calling in person and . The highest levels of satisfaction were recorded with 93 per cent of respondents were either very satisfied, satisfied or somewhat satisfied. This was closely followed by letter (91 per cent), telephone (86 per cent) and calling in person to a Revenue office (88 per cent). The online channel was the preferred method of contact with Revenue for all purposes, typically followed by phone and then letter.

24 116 SEÁN KENNEDY, GERRY MCGUINNESS AND MARTINA SHIRRAN 94 per cent of PAYE Anytime users stated they were satisfied with the service. These survey results are assisting Revenue in further designing and implementing a programme of customer service that is efficient to administer and makes it as easy as possible for taxpayers to comply with their obligations. Reference HRMC. (2015). HM Revenue and Customs Customer Survey Retrieved from attachment_data/file/460422/hmrc_customer_survey_ _report.pdf [8 December 2016].