An AI-powered smart assistant acting as a spokesperson for a government entity – the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority being a case in point

Abstract

Government agencies have recently been
competing with private entities in customer service,
and have gone further than the latter in their duty to
explain and simplify the law and its provisions for
those subject to it. To this end, users of government
websites now interact with automated chatbots or
intelligent assistants that answer their inquiries, guide
them to the required information, and may even direct
them to a legal ruling or administrative procedure.
The tax administration in any country is one of the
government agencies most interested in
communicating with taxpayers and clarifying the
provisions of the tax law to them, especially given
what studies and reports indicate that the difficulty
and complexity of the tax law is one of the most
prominent reasons for weak compliance and increased
tax loss (Tax Gap). Some tax administrations around
the world have already begun using smart assistants to interact with taxpayers and their
inquiries at different levels.
This paper begins by defining smart assistants, explaining their mechanisms, and outlining
the objectives of their use in government agencies in the first section. The second section
focuses on the hypothetical case study: the use of smart assistants at the Zakat, Tax, and
Customs Authority (the Authority) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This use is then
legally regulated in the second section, leading into the third section, which examines the
regulatory implications for both the Authority and taxpayers. Assuming that the smart
assistant is trained and provided with information by the Authority to deliver helpful,
accurate, and reliable responses to taxpayers, the researcher intends to measure the smart
assistant's responses against the content of the informational and guidance manuals issued
by the Authority.

Thus, it expresses its viewpoint and interpretation of zakat and tax regulations and bylaws,
and is binding on the authority if the conditions are met and there are no impediments. It
also has legal value and validity for the taxpayer if followed in good faith. While this
outcome may not appear to be in the interest of the administrative body, it ultimately
prioritizes the taxpayer's interests and ensures that government agencies take these tools
seriously and are held accountable for their actions, just as they are held accountable for
the content of their publications and guidelines.