The Norwegian Tax Administration’s strategy

The Norwegian Tax Administration’s strategy sets the direction for the agency’s development in the coming years.

It is based on our social mandate and outlines how we will fulfil this mandate in a world characterised by rapid change and increasing complexity.

Five strategic ambitions

We will pursue these ambitions both in our day-to-day and long-term management of the administration.

We will engage with businesses and individuals in ways that make it easier to do the right thing, and harder to make mistakes

To ensure compliance and correct taxation, it is essential that users find it easy to do the right thing from the outset. We will meet businesses and individuals with what they need, where they need it. Our services will be based on users’ needs, and form part of other services that users interact with. We develop efficient solutions for our users, while also preventing misuse and fraud. This will help maintain high levels of trust in the Tax Administration.

Through more active communication and improved user interactions, we will make it easier for individuals and businesses to understand their rights and obligations, and to keep track of their own information.

Users will experience the Tax Administration as predictable. They will largely be able to serve themselves, but when they need assistance, they will encounter a solution-oriented and efficient agency that seeks to resolve the matter at first contact.

We will implement fundamental changes in the area of collection. This work will affect the entire Tax Administration and facilitate new forms of dialogue with users, new ways of working, and system adaptations. In developing new services beyond the area of collection, we will pay particular attention to the needs of businesses. We aim to be present in businesses’ own processes and systems.

While we make it easier to do the right thing, it will also become harder to misuse or make mistakes. We will achieve this by embedding compliance into systems, influencing behaviour, and conducting targeted audits. We will motivate users to make the right choices, and we will detect errors, evasion, and misuse.

We will strengthen our knowledge of how we influence users to do the right thing. We will understand how to build coherent services and support life events that are important for taxation and compliance. At the same time, we will enhance our understanding of how services are misused, and how we can counteract this. We will understand how changes around us – such as new business models and work related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals affect businesses and society. We will have sufficient competence to address developments that influence tax revenues and trust in the Tax Administration, so that we initiate change early enough.

We will work together with others to prevent tax crime and ensure consequences follow more swiftly

Non-compliance with tax and duty regulations undermines trust in the tax system and has serious negative consequences for the financing of public services. We will intensify the fight against tax crime, contribute to the combatting of financial crime, and promote zero tolerance in society.

We will target and streamline our efforts by working risk-based, collecting, compiling, and analysing data. Our information base is fundamental to our ability to monitor developments, exchange data, and apply appropriate measures as early as possible in the value chain.

In collaboration with others, we will leverage competence, room for action, and sanctioning powers across boundaries. We will respond more quickly in all stages – assessment, preparation, and execution of cases.

We will cooperate internationally to prevent cross-border tax crime, and to build shared understanding of how this type of crime can be prevented.

We will build more knowledge about how tax crime arises in a digitalised and globalised world, and actively use this knowledge to reduce the scope for criminal activity.

We will manage our information in ways that support simplification and digitalisation

The Tax Administration will collect and manage the information that best enables us to deliver on our social mandate. We will ensure that this data contributes to simplification and digitalisation within the Tax Administration, and across society.

Reliable information about all individuals residing in Norway, and about what they earn and own, is a prerequisite for correct public administration and efficient, user-oriented service delivery.

We will strengthen the role of the National Population Register as Norway’s identity register. The National Population Register will meet society’s need to identify individuals.

To safeguard the tax base, we will work to improve information about transactions and assets. We will also contribute to the development of international standards for information management.

The majority of the Tax Administration’s data is generated outside the agency. By using data from others, we will help ensure that individuals and businesses do not need to provide the same information to public authorities more than once.

The Tax Administration’s data will be reliable and accessible – not only to us, but also to individuals, the public sector, and private enterprises. We will maintain trust by processing our data in ways that society perceives as safe and legitimate. We safeguard privacy through transparency about what data we hold about each user, and how we use it.

The Tax Administration will have knowledge of what data exists in society and the processes it is part of. We will build competence in how our information can be used in new ways to create value in our processes and for others. We will develop expertise in international standards and how they are designed, as well as in national and international solutions for sound identity management.

We will work together from the outset to achieve faster results

It is when we work together as one agency that we generate the power to reach our goals and ensure that all considerations are addressed. By using agile working methods and collaborating across professional and organisational boundaries, we will achieve faster results for our users and ourselves.

We will remain humble in recognising that the Tax Administration does not always know best, and we will work together with users and stakeholders in the private and public sectors, nationally and internationally, when solving challenges. By conducting user testing early in the development process, we will ensure that we continue the right initiatives and stop those that do not meet the mark.

We will increasingly orient our work around products. We will change to ensure that our products deliver value to users and can be quickly adapted to changing needs. At the same time, we must ensure that our governance and development processes are as simple as possible and understandable throughout the organisation. Interdisciplinary collaboration in products, projects, and line operations requires that we all contribute to creating simple solutions that foster shared understanding of the agency’s processes.

The changes facing the Tax Administration will place new demands on competence. We will maintain a clear overview of the Tax Administration’s and employees’ competence needs, and strengthen our focus on shared competence development, so that leaders and employees can carry out the tasks of the future. We will learn from and share our experiences, and give and receive feedback, so that we achieve results more quickly. Development and learning will primarily take place through task execution, interdisciplinary collaboration, and new roles. Making use of the opportunities that lie in accelerating task execution, working together with others, and understanding our users will be central to our culture.

We will use data, analytics, and artificial intelligence at scale in our operations

The Tax Administration will harness the full potential of digitalisation. We will use artificial intelligence and data-driven opportunities at scale as a natural part of our operations to offer new services, automate tasks, and simplify processes. Increased use of data provides us with insights that enable better decision-making in case processing and other production activities. We will be proactive and responsible in our use of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence opens up possibilities for major changes, and we will actively seek to realise the efficiency gains it offers.

The Tax Administration will strengthen its work on developing and using predictive models. This places high demands on our ability to manage data. We must also monitor the logic followed by machines to ensure it functions appropriately and in line with our values. Interdisciplinary collaboration between analytics teams and other professional environments is a prerequisite for accurate and usable models.

We will make use of the flexibility within the current regulatory framework, and actively work to ensure that regulations become more technology-neutral and conducive to digitalisation.

Increased use of technology means that tasks will change for many within the Tax Administration. Case processing will increasingly be automated and supported by digital decision-making tools. Data and artificial intelligence not replace people, but will make individual work more efficient and free up resources for tasks that require human competence. Leaders and employees will acquire new skills and use new tools in their daily work.

We will act when we gain new insights, even when this challenges established perceptions and working methods. We will build knowledge in data science and in what influences user behaviour. The knowledge we rely on will increasingly be quantifiable and verifiable. We will have the competence to assess the quality of our data and how to improve it.

Understand more

The Norwegian Tax Administration’s strategy sets the direction for the agency’s development in the coming years. It is based on our social mandate and outlines how we will fulfil this mandate in a world characterised by rapid change and increasing complexity.

The strategy consists of five strategic ambitions. These ambitions will guide us both in our daily work and in the long-term governance and development of the organisation. In addition, the strategy describes what this means for leaders and employees in the Tax Administration as we work to realise our strategic ambitions.

We have chosen not to define a fixed duration for the strategy. It will remain valid as long as the assumptions on which it is based continue to apply, and it will guide our priorities and strategic choices.

Our users and partners should notice the effects of the Tax Administration’s strategy. We will engage with businesses and individuals in ways that make it easier to do the right thing and harder to make mistakes. We will collaborate with others to prevent tax and duty-related crime and ensure that consequences follow more swiftly, and we will contribute to the fight against other forms of financial crime. We will manage our information in ways that support simplification and digitalisation, both within our organisation and across society.

Creating the Tax Administration of the future requires new ways of working. To succeed, we must reduce complexity within the organisation and collaborate from the outset to achieve faster results. We will make extensive use of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence in our operations.

Engaged and competent employees are essential to the success of the strategy and the transformations ahead. We are each other’s working environment, and our actions and behaviour contribute to the collective. Future-oriented competence, trust-based leadership and employees who make use of their room for action are key prerequisites for achieving our ambitions.

I hope this strategy will inspire and motivate change, so that the Tax Administration continues to deliver high quality and maintains the trust we enjoy.

Nina Schanke Funnemark, Director General

We expect the following developments in particular to influence society, and thereby also the Tax Administration, in the years ahead:

Geopolitics is changing at an increasingly rapid pace, challenging both existing security policies and international cooperation on regulations and systems. Resources are being prioritised towards defence and preparedness. Global consensus is becoming more difficult in a more protectionist world. At the same time, this may strengthen and increase the flow of goods, services, capital, and people within existing cooperation frameworks in the Nordic region and the EU.

Digitalisation is a priority in Norway. Tasks are being solved and value chains created in new ways. There is a shift in how criminals exploit digitalisation, with increasing speed and severity.

Users of public services expect intuitive, tailored, and coherent services in order to maintain high levels of trust. Cross-sector collaboration and innovative solutions are becoming more important.

Working life is affected by significant changes in Norway’s demographic composition. There will be fewer people of working age relative to the elderly, and more care responsibilities. Labour immigration can no longer meet all needs, and employers must think differently.

Sustainable development will require contributions from all parts of society. The challenges related to climate and the environment are growing, leading to changes in the economy and competitive conditions, increased security risks, unrest and more migration. Pressure on existing social rights, security structures, and governance systems is increasing.

Redistribution of resources within the public sector will be necessary to address sustainability challenges, the security situation and needs in health and elderly care.

An outside world characterised by rapid changes and complexity places high demands on our ability to adapt.

The Tax Administration secures public revenue through correct and efficient assessment and collection of taxes and duties adopted by the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting. We are responsible for collecting several other state claims and for managing the National Population Register.

Businesses and individuals have high levels of trust in the tax system because they experience equal treatment and predictability. Those who do not follow the rules are detected, and it is clear that this has consequences. Employees of the Tax Administration are proud to contribute to improving Norwegian society, solving problems on behalf of the community and combating threats that may endanger state revenues.

The Tax Administration is present when businesses and individuals need it. Our services are part of a coherent and comprehensive public service offering. A user-oriented regulatory framework designed for digital services helps safeguard users’ rights and opportunities, while also acting as a barrier to misuse.

Data is reused across the public sector so that users do not need to provide the same information more than once. The Tax Administration processes data in ways that society perceives as legitimate and transparent.

Although much happens automatically, both individuals and businesses occasionally need to contact the Tax Administration – and we need to contact them. When this happens, they encounter a solution-oriented and efficient agency, with good information flow across communication channels and professional areas.

Tax is embedded in business systems, and the Tax Administration provides businesses with insight and decision support by sharing relevant information. New business models have led to new user needs, and the Tax Administration has adapted its products accordingly. By using systems that better ensure compliance, serious actors actively contribute to combating tax and duty-related crime.

The Tax Administration is a key player in the fight against financial crime. Such crime is increasingly cross-border and complex. The Tax Administration has promoted the use of digital identity solutions to prevent identity theft and financial crime.

The Tax Administration is an active contributor to the functioning of the international tax system. We participate in the community that ensures correct taxation across national borders.

As simpler tasks have been automated, both leaders and employees have taken on new and more challenging responsibilities. Fewer employees now work on traditional tasks. Through interdisciplinary teams that quickly test solutions together with users, employees continuously acquire new skills in time to solve new tasks. Cross-functional collaboration from the outset is part of the agency’s culture. We innovate together with others, both nationally and internationally.

Engaged and competent leaders and employees are essential to the success of the strategy and the transformations ahead. We are each other’s working environment, and our actions and behaviour contribute to the collective. We are prepared for the major changes that technology and generational shifts will bring, and we actively use this to adapt. Future-oriented competence, trust-based leadership, and employees who make use of their room for action are key prerequisites for realising the ambitions of the strategy.

Trust-based leadership that promotes community, momentum, and execution

As a leader, I communicate a clear direction and highlight coherence and connections by using examples that people can relate to. I create a sense of security and motivation for change, and facilitate the development, recruitment, and use of competence where it is needed.

I will set overarching frameworks and shared goals so that employees can act independently and make quick, sound decisions. Depending on the context and the complexity of the task, I facilitate collaboration from the outset by planning and solving tasks together.

I will trust my employees and delegate tasks. I am curious about my surroundings and challenge my own assumptions. I foster open discussions, encourage diversity, and promote exploratory dialogue.

Employees who take responsibility and make use of their room for action together with others

As an employee of the Tax Administration, I take responsibility for leading and motivating myself to achieve desired goals. I make use of my room for action and see my role and tasks in the bigger picture. I understand how digitalisation can affect our operations, and I use the opportunities it provides to create an efficient working day. I dare to challenge established truths to create improvements and more efficient processes.

I am curious and take responsibility for developing my competence based on users’ needs, even beyond my own professional area. I am happy to use my competence in other parts of the agency, and I see this as a source of learning. I dare to explore, and I give and receive feedback – even on work that is not yet complete. I ask for help when I need it, and I collaborate with others so that we can bring out the best in each other.

Documents

You may choose to download the strategy as a PDF document:

English (PDF)

Norwegian (PDF)

Social mandate

The Norwegian Tax Administration ensures the financing of our public services

All taxpayers and declarants comply with the rules relating to taxes and duties.

The Norwegian Tax Administration ensures users access to register data and high-quality information

We instil and maintain the public’s trust in the Norwegian Tax Administration.