The Estonian Tax and Customs Board is planning to launch a database where companies need to register their employees even before they start work in July 2014.
Estonian tax authority to launch employee registry July 2014
9th August 2013, 18:50
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The bills enabling the new system to be implemented are in the final developmental stages and would be introduced to the government already this fall. Since changes need to be made in the domains of two ministries, two drafts are being drawn up -- by the Ministry of Finance and by the Ministry of Social Affairs, spokesman for the board Uku Tampere told BNS.
A tender has been announced by the board to develop the information system. The anticipated cost of the framework agreement is 350,000 euros.
According to the new system when an employee starts work the employer immediately has to register the person either in the web environment or in a service bureau of the tax and customs authority. It is also possible to register via an SMS but it comes with an obligation to renew the information in the web environment after a certain period of time.
The database would be launched with an aim to improve receipt of taxes and decrease the system of total inspections in the construction sector which, according to the board, is a waste of resources.
From the viewpoint of an employer the advantage of the new system is that to implement it the state would create a necessary technical solution which would result in the increase of the electronic data volume and the decrease of the administrative load.
The Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund would be able to create a paper-free procedure scheme -- unemployed people would be able to register themselves and to apply for unemployment benefits through the self-service portal since the necessary data would automatically be retrieved from the new register.
The joint database would be put to use by different institutions while the gathered data would be used by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund, the Social Insurance Board, the Police and Border Guard Board and the Labor Inspectorate, in addition to the Tax and Customs Board and the Unemployment Insurance Fund.