Tax Habits

💀 Old habits die hard, even when they don’t serve us anymore. Also when it comes to the world of in-house tax. Time for some reflection…

Many organisations are still operating in a cycle of using Excel for different tax jobs (like reporting), getting lost in email inboxes, and firefighting urgent tax issues. These habits aren't just cumbersome; they're risky and outdated. But hey, let’s be fair: I plead guilty as well, I have my fair share of suboptimal habits…

Why are old habits so difficult to break? 🤔

— "We've Always Done It This Way": jep, this is about the resistance to change

— “Prior Failures”: scar tissue from previous unsuccessful attempts

— “The firefighting trap”: being constantly in the "urgent" zone leaves no headspace for
strategic planning and change

— “This won’t work in our type of organisation”: sure, but what is your Plan B?

Why is now the right time to break these old habits?

The answer is straightforward: the ticking clock ⏰

Regulatory Changes: The landscape is shifting rapidly with new tax requirements, increased filing obligations, and demanding stakeholders including the tax authorities.

Digitalisation of the tax habitat: the tax authorities digitise at lightspeed. Think about the rise of real-time reporting and the use of data mining. The OECD Tax Administration 3.0 paper is an insightful read in this respect. (Full paper here)

Business Change: MNCs adapting to macroeconomic change, triggering supply chain realignments, and business model rationalisation. Tax teams need to get rid of blocking habits, or they will downgrade to a downstream department without a seat at the table

If your tax function is not agile, you're not just falling behind—you're actively accumulating risk.