Tax procedures can be carried out by video call in the Tenerife municipality of La Laguna, once the testing period has concluded with a “success”, as reported by the City Council on Monday.
The latest data collected by the Treasury and Economic Affairs area shows a boom in remote attention for tax procedures. Of the 13,451 appointments in 2021, 58% were by phone, “a percentage that highlights the change we are experiencing in the way we relate to our neighbors,” according to the Consistory.
To carry out the most common tax procedures by video call, citizens must enter the prior appointment system hosted on the City Council website. Next, choose the procedure you want to do and the type of care you want to get.
When the appointment is confirmed, a text message arrives on the mobile phone and an email with basic instructions and a link. Once the day and time of the appointment have arrived, you must enter the link that has been received and access a virtual waiting room, to which a public employee will connect to attend to your needs or doubts. During the video call, documents and applications can be exchanged in real time to facilitate processing.
The mayor, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, has indicated that with the health crisis “the need for the public administration to modernize itself to facilitate communication with the population has become clear”. Hence, he explained, the importance of betting on new technologies to be able to bring public services closer to any part of the municipality, not only but the world, and for this reason the corporation is working on the digitization of the main services to increase ways of relating to citizenship.
Luis Yeray Gutiérrez has pointed out that one of the main areas in which “a special effort” has been made has been Finance and Economic Affairs, with the launch of the new Virtual Taxpayer Office in September, the possibility of direct debiting taxes automatically through this tool.
And, now, “with this channel that allows personal contact with the neighbors, as well as speeding up and avoiding costs of time and unnecessary travel”, highlighted the mayor.
The councilor for the area, Alejandro Marrero, explained that the video call service is operational in the most common and demanded procedures, although the intention is to gradually expand it.
With the incorporation of this system, “we increase the instruments of direct communication with citizens to offer a faster and more efficient service, with a closer and more humane treatment, either in person or by telephone, by video call or the electronic headquarters. ”.
