Welcome to TAXEDU’s newsletter!

The aim of the TAXEDU portal is to ensure that all European citizens – young and old – are informed about the breadth of services and facilities made possible through tax (education, healthcare etc.).

Information is conveyed through games, e-Learning material and microlearning clips so that European youth can learn about tax in its different forms, and the issues associated with it (tax fraud, tax evasion, etc.) in a fun and engaging way.

The teachers’ corner offers resources, tips and tricks on teaching about tax.

We hope you will enjoy reading about our latest news and activities.

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We're helping you spread the word about TAXEDU

Since 2017, the TAXEDU portal has been helping teachers, children, teens and young adults across all EU Member States find the information and resources they need to confidently navigate the often-complicated world of taxation

But making sure Europe’s teachers and pupils – from Portugal to Romania and from Sweden to Greece – know about the portal and its useful resources, is a big job! A growing group of TAXEDU promoters are rising to the task by promoting the portal and its tools within their networks.

To support their efforts, we have designed a handy mini guide as well as ready-to-publish articles and social media content in all EU languages.

Read more about these initiatives below!

Mini guide for TAXEDU promoters

Designed especially for TAXEDU promoters, the mini guide is now available online. There’s a compact version and a longer full-length version. Both can be used by national contact points to spread the message about tax education and promote the multilingual, engaging, and age-targeted resources and tools available on the TAXEDU portal.

Main features of the mini guide:

Talking points to ensure effective communication with each target group.
An overview of material available for teachers and students.
Inspiring tax education success stories from across the EU.

Compact version

Full-length

Pick-and-post catalogue of social media content

TAXEDU is constantly growing its follower base and currently counts more than 17,000 followers on Facebook and another 4,000 on Instagram.

Facebook and Instagram campaigns are rolled out regularly as part of TAXEDU's successful strategy to spread the word. By posting content two to three times a week, we ensure that those who follow the TAXEDU accounts on Facebook and Instagram receive all the latest TAXEDU news from across Europe.

To maintain this positive momentum, a collection of pre-made social media posts is available for TAXEDU promoters in all EU languages. The posts are ready for use on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, and include videos, stories, quizzes, polls and other fun content that followers can interact with and share. This pick-and-post catalogue can be used ad-hoc on various occasions at national level.

For those who have not done so already, find and follow the TaxEdu portal on Facebook and Instagram and be one of the people in the know!

Ready-to-place articles

Tax is an intimidating topic, hardly something you bring up in a light-hearted conversation with friends, or discuss with your family at the dinner table.

Yet taxes form the very foundation of the societies we live in, paying for the public goods we usually take for granted, and protecting us from challenges that have not yet materialised, but require an insurance policy for when they do. Communicating the importance of understanding and learning about taxes in way that catches the attention of people, young and old, is a challenge.

That’s where our ready-to-place articles can help. Translated into your language, engaging journalistic articles will be made available for you to publish in selected national media, like online or print publications, blogs or social media. They can also be disseminated as a press release or used to formulate speaking points for interventions at press briefings or on TV and radio.

The first article is in the works, and will soon be ready for you to share and disseminate.

Activities across the EU

Understanding tax collection in EU Member States

All EU Member States collect taxes, but what they do with it is based on each country’s national priorities. According to Eurostat, the highest government expenditure-to-GDP shares have been observed in France (55.6 %), Finland (53.3 %), Belgium (52.2 %) and Denmark (49.6 %). The lowest in Ireland (24.8%), Lithuania (34.9 %), Romania (36.0 %) and Bulgaria (36.3 %).

In general, governments spend the largest chunk of tax revenue on social protection (41 % of the total expenditure), followed by health (15 % of total expenditure), general public services (12 %) and education (10 %), while areas such as public order and environmental protection receive 3.6 % and 1.7 % respectively.

Curious for more statistics on how EU governments spend their tax revenue?

Civic tax education in times of pandemic

Francisco Salvador Ávila from the Special Delegation of Valencia – Tax Agency, shares with us his experience and views about online tax education lessons.

Teachers are the front-line workers in education

Motivating teachers is one of the essential prerequisites of a successful education system according to Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner responsible for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.

The latest Eurydice report on the practices and perceptions of teachers across Europe highlights the challenges the profession is facing and why the exchange of best practices has become all the more important. This is also relevant for tax education, and it’s why TAXEDU is striving to inspire teachers and students across the continent by creating engaging and easily accessible learning material, and providing a platform for sharing experiences, tips and success stories.

Within the TAXEDU community, there are many examples of innovative approaches to tax education that teachers can gain inspiration from!

We’d love to hear from you!

The TAXEDU portal relies on input and contributions of National Tax Authorities from across the EU, whose support brings us closer to achieving our objectives.

One of many best practice examples: Romania’s Public Finance Ministry and the country’s National Agency for Tax Administration launched an intensive campaign to promote TAXEDU online and via social media.

Sharing these strategies and experiences can encourage action and new initiatives in other countries. We are always keen to receive new input for the portal and its training catalogue. Regular new content will help drive engagement and serve as an inspiration to all countries, facilitating discussions on what works, and what doesn’t in different learning contexts.

Thank you!

The TAXEDU portal would like to thank the National Tax Authorities from countries all around the EU for their highly constructive contributions. Their support brings us even closer to achieving our objectives: to promote the fiscal education of young Europeans, reduce tax evasion and fraud across Europe and provide European citizens with information on the services and facilities that are made possible through tax.

Our mailing adress is:

Rue Joseph II 79,

1000 Bruxelles,

Belgium

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