ADB's ICT-focused support to improve Mongolia's tax, governance efforts
EconomyUlaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved USD 25 million loan to help the Government of Mongolia improve its tax administration and public investment management using information and communication technology (ICT).
The Mongolian economy’s shift in the late 1990s
from a reliance on livestock herding to focusing on mining has made the
country’s finances highly vulnerable to fluctuating global commodity prices.
“A well-functioning system to manage taxes on one
hand and better public investment management on the other hand should help
Mongolia weather volatile commodity prices and channel funds into much-needed
infrastructure investment,” said ADB Financial Sector Specialist for East Asia
Mr. Seung Min Lee. “And using ICT will be more efficient and transparent, which
will help attract local and foreign investment.”
Mongolia’s current tax administration system
consists of well-defined business processes. However, the existing ICT systems
for tax administration in the country are fragmented and inefficient. This is
also true of the country’s public investment management system, which has
caused delays in some investment projects, leading to cost overruns for the
government.
The Strengthening ICT Systems for Efficient and
Transparent Public Investment and Tax Administration Project will streamline
processes for tax administration and public investment in line with
international good practice. It will support the Mongolian Tax Authority (MTA)
in its tax collection efforts by establishing an information system and
providing required ICT infrastructure—network, security, computing, and storage
infrastructure—to host it. This will allow the government to identify current
and prospective taxpayers.
Additionally, the project will support the Budget
Investment Department (BID) to develop an ICT-based public investment
management information system to help the government select the investment
projects that will bring most benefits to the country and better manage them.
Government staff, notably those from MTA and BID, will also be trained in the
operations and maintenance of these information systems.
Source: adb.org