Tax policy analyst

Tax policy analysts research and develop taxation policies and legislation in order to improve and develop tax policies. They advise official bodies on policy implementation and financial operations, as well as forecast financial influence of changes in tax policies.

The following job titles also refer to tax policy analyst:

pecunary consultant
fiscal and policy analyst
fiscal analyst
tax research analyst
tax policy advisor
fiscal policy analyst
tax analyst
contributions advisor
tax policy adviser

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as tax policy analyst. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Tax policy analyst is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to tax policy analyst.

public finance accountant
secretary general
economic adviser
city councillor
secretary of state

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of tax policy analyst. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of tax policy analyst with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of tax policy analyst.

Government policy implementation: The procedures related to the application of government policies at all levels of public administration.
Public finance: The economic influence of the government, and the workings of government revenue and expenditures.
Organisational policies: The policies to achieve set of goals and targets regarding the development and maintenance of an organisation.
Politics: The method, process and study of influencing people, gaining control over a community or society, and the distribution of power within a community and between societies.
Business analysis: The research field which addresses the identification of business needs and problems and the determination of the solutions that would mitigate or prevent the smooth functioning of a business. Business analysis comprises IT solutions, market challenges, policy development and strategic matters.
Cadastral taxation: The taxation legislation concerning real estate and real property’s metes-and-bounds of a community.
Strategic planning: The elements defining the foundation and core of an organisation such as its mission, vision, values, and objectives.
Tax legislation: Tax legislation applicable to a specific area of specialisation, such as import tax, government tax, etc.
Corporate law: The legal rules that govern how corporate stakeholders (such as shareholders, employees, directors, consumers, etc) interact with one another, and the responsibilities corporations have to their stakeholders.
Public law: The part of law which governs relationships between individuals and the government, and the relationships between individuals which concern society directly.
Company policies: The set of rules that govern the activity of a company.

These skills are necessary for the role of tax policy analyst.

Develop organisational policies: Develop and supervise the implementation of policies aimed at documenting and detailing the procedures for the operations of the organisation in the lights of its strategic planning.
Research taxation procedures: Research the procedures which regulate taxation activities such as the procedures involved in the calculation of tax for organisations or individuals, the taxation handling and inspection process, and tax returns processes.
Monitor company policy: Monitor the company’s policy and propose improvements to the company.
Develop taxation policies: Develop new policies dealing with taxation procedures based on prior research, which will improve the efficiency of the procedures and their influence on the optimisation of government revenue and expenditures, ensuring compliance with taxation legislation.
Advise on tax policy: Advise government officials on changes in tax policies and procedures, and the implementation of new policies on a national and local level.
Supervise advocacy work: Manage the aim to influence political, economic and social decisions. Make sure ethics and policies are followed.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of tax policy analyst. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Bookkeeping regulations: The methods and regulations involved in the process of accurate bookkeeping.
Financial forecasting: The tool used in performing fiscal financial management to identify revenue trends and estimated financial conditions.
Fraud detection: The techniques used to identify fraudulous activities.
Audit techniques: The techniques and methods that support a systematic and independent examination of data, policies, operations and performances using computer-assisted audit tools and techniques (CAATs) such as spreadsheets, databases, statistical analysis and business intelligence software.
Budgetary principles: Principles of estimating and planning of forecasts for business activity, compile regular budget and reports.
Accounting techniques: The techniques of recording and summarising business and financial transactions and analysing, verifying, and reporting the results.
Office software: The characteristics and functioning of software programs for office tasks such as word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, email and database.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of tax policy analyst. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Advise on tax planning: Advise on appropriate strategies to include taxes in the overall financial plan in order to reduce the tax load. Advise on questions related to tax legislation and provide advise on the possible implications that decisions in financial matters can cause in a tax declaration.. Advise on questions concerning things such as the creation of a company, investments, recruitments, or company successions.
Comply with legal regulations: Ensure you are properly informed of the legal regulations that govern a specific activity and adhere to its rules, policies and laws.
Prepare financial auditing reports: Compile information on audit findings of financial statements and financial management in order to prepare reports, point out improvement possibilities, and confirm governability.
Think analytically: Produce thoughts using logic and reasoning in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Forecast account metrics: Make predictions on the movement of account measurements and data which give insight into an organisation’s financial state in order to aid analyses and evaluate potential risks.
Manage administrative systems: Ensure administrative systems, processes and databases are efficient and well managed and give the sound basis to work together with the administrative officer/staff/professional.
Write work-related reports: Compose work-related reports that support effective relationship management and a high standard of documentation and record keeping. Write and present results and conclusions in a clear and intelligible way so they are comprehensible to a non-expert audience.
Advise on public finance: Advise public organisations such as governmental organisations on their financial operations and procedures, to ensure optimal efficiency.
Ensure cross-department cooperation: Guarantee communication and cooperation with all the entities and teams in a given organisation, according to the company strategy.
Disseminate information on tax legislation: Provide advise on the possible implications for companies or individuals on decisions regarding tax declaration based on tax legislation. Advise on the favourable tax strategies that could be followed depending on the needs of the client.
Perform project management: Manage and plan various resources, such as human resources, budget, deadline, results, and quality necessary for a specific project, and monitor the project’s progress in order to achieve a specific goal within a set time and budget.
Use microsoft office: Possess the ability to work with the standard programs contained in Microsoft Office at a capable level. Create a document and do basic formatting, insert page breaks, create headers or footers, and insert graphics, create automatically generated tables of contents and merge form letters from a database of addresses (usually in Excel). Create auto-calculating spreadsheets, create images, and sort and filter data tables.
Manage government policy implementation: Manage the operations of the implementation of new government policies or changes in existing policies on a national or regional level as well as the staff involved in the implementation procedure.

2631 – Economists

 

 

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References

1. Tax policy analyst – ESCO