IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Although the EU predicts a fully operational E-government system by 2050, many countries have so far failed to hit targets.

Europe will have fully interoperable and transparent E-government by 2050, according to EU officials. This future government will blur the lines between us as individuals and how we interact with officialdom.

Governments will poll us about shaping policy and voting will be done through our televisions. All interactions that have traditionally taken place physically with government will disappear. Telemedicine and technology-based state education will be as natural as electronic tax returns and online banking are today. The same will apply to voting, discussions with other citizens and having your say in parliament.

Read more: Many countries failing to hit EU E-government targets

The landscape of the VAT world changes radically on January 1, 2015, when taxation reform kicks in. On this date the emphasis of VAT reverts back to being a tax on consumption. The VAT reform will affect all EU sales of telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services. VAT will have to be applied based on where the end consumer is located. The existing rule is that VAT is applied based on where the supplier of the services is located. Here are some simple questions that businesses need to ask so as to understand if they affected by the new VAT rules.

Read more: EU: Will New VAT On E-Services Rules Affect Your Company?

European public sector workers are looking forward to have some boring tasks taken away from them by robots and drones, a survey revealed.

According to the research commissioned by Ricoh Europe, 62 per cent of employees believe drones and desk-based robots will be helping in offices in about twenty years, while 70 per cent said augmented reality will most likely become commonplace.

Read more: EU: Robots and drones to change office of the future

A new report sponsored by Ricoh Europe, Published by Billentis, states that businesses across Europe can achieve a 60 to 80% cost saving by adopting electronic invoicing (e-invoicing), compared to traditional paper-based processes. The report highlights how the typical payback period from the point of implementation is between six to 18 months.

The report predicts that nearly one quarter (24%) of all bills and invoices will be processed electronically this year, with around six billion paperless invoices and bills to be exchanged across Europe. It also anticipates a 22% annual increase in e-invoicing and e-billing in business and government sectors. The main reason for this rapid acceleration is based on financial pressures, with all markets surveyed naming cost reduction as a top factor for adopting e-billing and e-invoicing processes.

Read more: European businesses could acheive 80% cost savings by adopting electronic invoicing