HP, Oracle team for Kentucky tax modernization

The Commonwealth of Kentucky recently deployed a tax modernization program, which will help replace many of its existing legacy collection and revenue systems. The Comprehensive Tax System (CTS) is designed to improve revenue administration, detect and eliminate fraud and abuse, and provide self-service access to taxpayer information over the Internet.

Implemented by HP Enterprise Services, formerly EDS, in conjunction with Oracle Enterprise Taxation Management and Oracle Database applications, the contract is worth more than $20 million, with an additional $6.7 million over the next five years for annual software maintenance and support, according to the state.

The August 21 deployment is the first of three planned updates for CTS that will last over the next three years. According to John Andrus, vice president of Tax Global Business at Oracle, the phased approach will reduce risk and enable faster response to changes in tax law, while reducing costs and improving taxpayer assistance.

The next major CTS deployment planned will include the development of a taxpayer portal to enable taxpayers to register businesses, file returns, make payments and make account inquires online. Future releases of the system are planned to support sales, withholding, corporate and individual income taxes. The commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software solution is intended to be largely self-sufficient with the ability to add additional taxes in the future without vendor assistance, the state said in a description of the project.

“The new tax system is designed to help the Kentucky Department of Revenue enhance its citizen-centric services while allowing the Commonwealth to improve tax administration and collection efficiency,” Dennis Stolkey, senior vice president, U.S. Public Sector, HP Enterprise Services, said in a statement.

Tom Miller, Department of Revenue Commissioner for Kentucky, said the new system will increase taxpayer satisfaction and streamline state revenue collection.

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