The Department of Revenue took another significant step forward on May 8 by holding a kickoff event to provide an overview of the work that will be done as part of the second rollout of the department's modernization project. This rollout will involve the modernization of the tax administration systems the department has used for Inheritance Tax, Realty Transfer Tax and Medical Marijuana Tax, and will provide a workflow system for the Voluntary Disclosure Program.
The kickoff event provided the opportunity to brief impacted Revenue employees on their roles in the Rollout 2 implementation. Those in attendance also saw a live demonstration of the Pennsylvania Tax Hub (PATH), the department's version of GenTax, a commercial, off-the-shelf tax administration solution from Fast Enterprises, LLC. PATH was launched in late January and was soon followed by the launch of myPATH, the self-service portal that taxpayers can access over the internet.
The department is on schedule to transition the tax types that are part of Rollout 2 into PATH in mid-October 2019.
"We are excited to build off the success that we had with the project's first rollout, which involved motor and alternative fuel taxes," Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell said. "We are confident the next steps in this project will continue to create efficiencies and improve customer service for our taxpayers."
As part of the work on Rollout 2, the department is communicating with county Registers of Wills, Recorders of Deeds, tax practitioner groups and other stakeholders to keep them informed of how the implementation of the new tax system will impact their operations.
The first rollout, which occurred on time and on budget, has proven to be a great example of the benefits the system offers. As of early May, there were approximately 4,000 distinct log-ins for myPATH from users with at least one account. The system is also responsible for the collection of more than $750 million in tax revenue, which has come from more than 2,500 payments through myPATH.
"Users are finding this new, user-friendly system is making their lives easier by eliminating many of the complicated paper filings that were necessary before," Hassell said. "As this project continues to move forward, we expect others to have a similar experience."
The department will also embark upon a third rollout that will allow Pennsylvanians to use myPATH for their Personal Income Tax returns and Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program applications. This will be a major benefit for the department's customers who will have a better system to seamlessly file tax returns and PTRR applications while accessing more information online. Delivery of this third rollout is expected in late 2020.
Revenue staff assigned to the department's modernization project team are working alongside staff from Fast Enterprises, LLC, the vendor the department hired to update its tax systems and improve its technology. Fast Enterprises is a leader in its industry and has implemented its software solution in municipalities and countries throughout the world.
The department's implementation of GenTax and myPATH will increase efficiency, reduce risk of system failure, facilitate improved tax collection, reduce administrative costs and allow the department to respond more quickly to ever-changing tax laws while improving overall taxpayer service. Additional information regarding myPATH, including how to sign up for myPATH, can be found at mypath.pa.gov.