(Taichung News) The Government Service Award is often hailed as the Oscars of administrative agencies, making it one of the most challenging honors to attain. Following its win at the 2nd Government Service Award in 2019, the Local Tax Bureau of the Taichung City Government has once again distinguished itself among 144 competing agencies. Its project, “Local Tax AI Customer Service Kiosks—One-Stop Tax Service on the Cloud,” earned the bureau the 8th Government Service Award – Digital Innovation and Value-Added Enhancement. This achievement reflects Mayor Lu Shiow-yen’s policy vision of building a smart city and advancing digital governance.
Director Shen Cheng-an of the Local Tax Bureau explained that in 2018, the bureau became the first in the country to introduce AI intelligent customer service kiosks. In 2022, with funding support and authorization from the Ministry of Finance’s Fiscal Information Agency, it developed the nationwide version of the Local Tax AI Customer Service kiosks—“Local Tax Helper.” In addition to providing comprehensive responses to local tax inquiries, the kiosks have been progressively enhanced to integrate tax estimation, online applications, and electronic payment services. These features address public concerns—such as unfamiliarity with tax laws, how much tax they need to pay, application procedures, and payment methods—successfully creating the all-in-one intelligent service most needed by the public.
Director Shen noted that the Local Tax AI Customer Service kiosks achieve over 90% in both coverage and accuracy, and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, aligning with the lifestyle habits of all generations. Since its launch, it has been used more than 160,000 times, with nearly half of the inquiries made outside regular working hours. This demonstrates that the intelligent service kiosks effectively resolve the issue of office workers needing to take leave to handle tax-related matters. Moreover, over 90% of users have given the kiosks a five-star satisfaction rating.
Director Shen further noted that Mayor Lu has been committed to advancing digital governance and building a smart city. The Local Tax AI Customer Service kiosks exemplify the successful application of smart technologies in public services. Receiving the Government Service Award represents the highest recognition and serves as strong affirmation of Taichung’s digital governance achievements. Moving forward, the bureau will continue to refine the kiosks to provide the public with faster, more user-friendly digital tax services. For further details or inquiries, feel free to call the bureau’s toll-free service hotline at 0800-000321, or dial 04-22585000 and press 1 for the A++ Station, where dedicated staff will be pleased to assist you.