This year, officials from the Agenzia delle Entrate (Tax Office) and the Agenzia delle Entrate-Riscossione (Italian debt collection agency) in Sicily shared the Italian project "Tax and School" with an international school in Congo to reach citizens of the future and offer them opportunities for growth and civic engagement. Together they reflected on the importance and benefit of taxes and their utilisation for the public good.

The children took part in the webinar with great interest. Many of them are children of European workers.

The teachers had been preparing them for the event and for the study of the tax system in Europe and around the world for some time; in fact, the students paid close attention to the lesson. Our tax education experience has been extended beyond our borders, sharing our tax system and the importance of a fair society. The children were very interested in the topics presented by the Agency officials, frowning upon the behaviour of tax evaders who undermine the country's well-being and growth.

The multiculturalism of our times has affirmed how differences create wealth, offering common ground for growth and improvement. Children of different nationalities in the same class who reflect on how to live in a fair society provide hope for a better future.

Children of all cultures expressed their belief in a world guided by just laws that ensure peace and shared well-being for all, and this is the most important goal. 

Opening the dialogue on fiscal legality in Congo has meant talking about social services and benefits for everyone.  The situation in Congo, which these young students experience every day, albeit through the filter of their different nationalities, needs new inspiration and a renewed social conscience which can address the challenge of building a more proactive and innovative political and economic culture. The children listened to the ideas presented by the officials and we are confident that the seed of law cast in their direction will bear fruit over time.

On Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 November, Revenue (Irish Tax and Customs) hosted the first in-person meeting of the Fiscalis Project Group (FPG) on Tax Education in the historic grounds of Dublin Castle, headquarters of Revenue. 

The meeting was opened by Brian Boyle, Assistant Secretary for Accountant General's & Strategic Planning Division, Revenue (Irish Tax and Customs). Mr Boyle welcomed the delegates, who represented tax administrations from Austria, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. 

Delegates from five tax administrations gave presentations on a variety of topics, including their current national programmes, research on tax literacy, as well as potential future initiatives that the group could undertake. 

A series of breakout sessions were organised throughout the day and a half meeting. The breakout sessions provided the opportunity for delegates to share experience and advice, based on the work of their national administrations in tax education. Delegates were invited to propose solutions to common challenges, share advice on the design, promotion, and delivery of tax education initiatives and to look at what participants of the FPG would like the group to achieve in the future. 

On Day 2, DGTAXUD’s consortium of external contractors provided a progress update on their work throughout the year, as well as future developments. The Project Group appreciate the work and support of the consortium throughout the year. 

To close the meeting, the role of Project Group Chair was officially handed over from Revenue (Ireland) to Agenzia Della Entrate (Italy). Delegates from Italy provided an overview of their national tax education initiatives to date, providing a glimpse into potential areas that could be explored by the Project Group in the next year. 

The Project Group eagerly await 2024, where under the chairmanship of Agenzia Della Entrate, members hope to increase tax education amongst young people across the EU. 

Fisco e scuola (taxes and school), a competition between three teams: their names – Iva, Irpef and Registro (VAT, Individual income tax, and Registration tax, respectively). All competing classes completed the course 

In Italy, the Sardinia Regional Directorate of the Agenzia delle Entrate (Tax Office) organised a treasure hunt with a primary school in Cagliari as part of the project Fisco e scuola (taxes and school).

In all, 70 children around 10 years old divided into three teams took part in the game held on their school premises.

The main themes were the tax return, why it is important to pay taxes and how the codice fiscale (tax code) is composed. Two tax administration officials went to the school and firstly talked about these topics, presenting and explaining them in an age-appropriate manner. One key concept they conveyed, together with the basics of the tax system, was the ethical value of tax contribution. The reference to the Constitution was fundamental.

In the second part of the project, the children were divided into three teams (Iva, Irpef and Registro - VAT, Individual income tax, and Registration tax) to "battle it out" in a treasure hunt in the school's outdoor surroundings. Each individual challenge was based on a riddle that referred to a topic that had been covered earlier in the classroom, and the individual prizes were letters that eventually formed the word Costituzione (Constitution). All teams completed the course and found the treasure: sweets, gadgets and a plaque for the winning team (Irpef - Individual income tax).

During the award ceremony, one child said into the microphone: "I learned how we should behave as adults. It is very important to pay taxes for the health of everyone. We mustn't behave like those tax evaders who live off others.”

As we enter the festive season, many of us will be looking online to buy gifts for family and friends. However, don’t let unexpected extra costs on your online purchases dampen your holiday spirit. In this article, we introduce some of the additional costs and consumer rights that may affect you, depending on where your online purchases are dispatched from. 

Ordering goods online that are dispatched from another EU country

The European Single Market, also known as the European Common Market, ensures free movement of goods, services, capital, and persons within the EU. As a result, goods can move around the EU almost as freely as they can move around within a single country. 

When you purchase goods online that are dispatched from another EU country:

• There are no customs duties to be paid, and 
• The Value Added Tax (VAT) is already included in the final price that you pay at the online checkout. 

However, you may have to pay excise duty on certain goods, such as tobacco and alcohol.

Ordering goods online that are dispatched from a non-EU country

When you order goods originating from outside the EU:

• You will have to pay customs duties on goods above €150. The customs value is based on the price that you paid for the goods. 
• The VAT may be included in the final price that you pay at the online checkout. For example, many larger online retailers have signed up to the EU Import One Stop Shop, which means that VAT will be included in the price at the checkout. However, in other cases, where VAT is not included in the checkout price, the postal operator or courier may collect VAT from you upon delivery. The taxable amount on which VAT is charged includes the customs value, taxes, duties, levies, and other charges, such as shipping and insurance costs. 

You may also have to pay excise duties on certain goods, regardless of the price of the goods.

Consumer rights in the EU

In addition to the advantages provided by the European Single Market, EU consumer protection rules ensure certain rights for buyers when they shop online. The EU website provides an easy-to-use interactive tool and a factsheet to help you understand your rights when buying in the EU. 

Business location

Before purchasing online, you should check if the business is located in the EU. A website name may indicate that it is an EU-based business, for example, websites that end in a domain extension associated with an EU country (.es, .de, .it). However, this does not guarantee that the business is based in the EU. 

You can check the terms and conditions, privacy policy or ‘contact us’ part of the website to find the physical address of the business. If you know the VAT number for the business as noted on the website, you can validate it online via the VIES VAT number validation webpage.

Further Information

Please check the EU website for a full overview of the EU countries and certain territories where EU rules regulating customs, VAT and excise apply.

To find out more about taxation in the EU, including customs and VAT, explore the broad range of educational materials on the TAXEDU website.

On 19 October 2023, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Irish tax and customs) launched an ‘Introduction to Tax’ education module for students in Transition Year. Transition Year is the first year of the senior cycle (final three years) in Ireland’s education system with students typically aged between 15 – 16 years old.

The module consists of eight stand-alone but complementary units of learning that cover key tax-related topics, such as:

• where tax money goes and the benefits for the public;
• how taxes are made;
• how employee taxes are calculated;
• how to use Revenue’s online services;
• self-employed tax obligations;
• basic overview of customs rules and the work of our customs teams;
• introduction to the shadow economy, and Revenue’s compliance activities.

The materials within each of the units consists of PowerPoint presentations, exercise and answer sheets, a learning journal, and any required handouts. Additionally, there are videos, animations, and interactive elements (PDF scenarios, Kahoot! quizzes) within some modules to help supplement student learning. All materials required for delivery of the module are available to download from the Revenue website and are free to use by teachers in the classroom. The materials are available for teaching in English and Irish.

The module provides materials for up to 16 hours of class time across all 8 units. However, teachers have flexibility to adapt the resources to the needs, abilities, and interests of their students. Once a student has completed at least 3 of the 8 units within the module, they can receive a Certificate of Completion from Revenue. 

As part of the design stage, Revenue (Irish tax and customs) worked closely with an educational consultant to ensure that the module provides cross-curricular links within the current junior and senior education cycles and a graphics designer to ensure that the module is age appropriate and visually attractive to the targeted age range. 

In addition to the ‘Introduction to Tax’ module, Revenue have also developed an activity poster in association with OIDE, a professional development organisation for teachers in Ireland. The Tax in Action poster provides tax-based activities for Junior Cycle students between 12 to 15 years old. The activities encourage students to explore the role of tax in society. 

(Left to right): Eamon Devaney, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, Mairead McGuinness, Kathryn Hynes (Unit Manager) and Anita Mulligan at the launch of Revenue’s Transition Year ‘Introduction to Tax’ module on 7 October. 

The launch of the ‘Introduction to Tax’ module is timely as the module meets many of the tax-related competencies within the newly launchedjoint financial competence framework for children and youth developed by the EU and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The module meets 12 key tax-related competencies under the content areas Financial Landscape, Money and Transactions and Planning and Managing Finances within this new framework.

Between June and September 2023, the Ministry of Finance (MF), the National Bank of Romania (BNR), the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) and the Romanian Association of Banks (ARB) organised the 5th edition of the Urban Financial Education Camp, a project dedicated to 6th and 7th grade students. Former editions were organised in June 2019, July-August 2021, as well as June-September 2022.

In 2023, the project was carried out during 16 sessions, lasting one week each, in spaces made available by the BNR through its territorial structures.
Students who had the opportunity to be part of this experience were enrolled in school units in Bucharest, Constanța, Târgu Jiu, Buzău, Baia Mare, Oradea, Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Timișoara, Craiova, Suceava, Iași and Târgu Mureș.

During the five days of each camp, specialists from the MF, BNR, ASF and ARB presented and explained financial ideas and concepts. Each of the student groups benefited from useful information aimed at developing healthy money management habits and skills to make correct and informed choices that improve their financial situation.

In this context, the importance of financial and tax education, taxes and fees, as well as of the TAXEDU portal, were emphasised. Explanations of what taxes are and the daily benefits through surprising and fun facts about tax from around Europe made learning fun for children and teenagers. This was carried out using simple and accessible language.

Regarding TAXEDU, information was conveyed through games, e-Learning material and micro learning clips so that European youth could learn about tax in its different forms and the issues associated with it (e.g. tax fraud, tax evasion) in a fun and engaging way.

The TAXEDU Portal’s Teachers’ Corner resources, tips and tricks also delighted the children and teenagers.

A distinct point on the agenda for these Urban Financial Education Camps was the canine team’s demonstrations based on the excellent collaboration over the past years with specialists from the Romanian Customs Authority, but also the increased interest of children in this type of activity from the Urban Camps programme. 

Actually, the programme utilised a non-formal teaching methodology called edutainment (education through entertainment). The activities used multi-sensory techniques that resulted in accelerated learning. Children were permanently involved in the financial education process.

In addition, games and activities were used to demonstrate important financial concepts so that students learned and had fun at the same time.
Within the Urban Financial Education Camp, a session dedicated to children from disadvantaged backgrounds was organised between 28 August and 1 September 2023 for a second year in a row. It took place in in an informal setting in Sinaia, a picturesque mountainous town 140 km from Bucharest. The necessary infrastructure was made available to the participants to create a pleasant atmosphere in which knowledge and financial information were assimilated at an optimal level.

Financial education occupies a strategic place on the agenda of all public institutions that have tasks and responsibilities in this regard. The programme’s common objective is to increase the level of financial education among students in Romania.