IBM has introduced software to help governments around the world collect delinquent tax debt.
One of the first governments to try the new software is New York State, which has amassed a $9 billion budget deficit and had to temporarily delay sending out tax refunds until recently.
The IBM Tax Collections Optimizer uses IBM-patented analytics technology to help identify the most effective and efficient methods to collect taxes from delinquent debtors. IBM Research and consultants from IBM Global Business Services collaborated to develop the IBM Tax Collections Optimizer, which uses a combination of data analytics and other models to create action plans for each case. The plan optimizes the order of activities agents will take in order to maximize the total amount of debts collected while taking into consideration the case load, personnel resources, and the anticipated effectiveness of the suggested actions.
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has collaborated with IBM since 1999 to apply advanced analytics to its operations, identifying questionable refund claims which since 2004 have resulted in savings of $1.043 billion.
The State of New York added the IBM Tax Collections Optimizer to its approaches around tax compliance and collections last year after closely collaborating with IBM to develop the system. The Tax Collections Optimizer is expected to help bring in an additional $100 million over a three-year period.
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