Tax department outlines $37.2 million operating budget, IT projects and staffing priorities to Ways & Means

Erin Anderson, chief operating officer of taxes, told the House Ways & Means Committee the Department of Taxes is requesting an operating budget of about $37.2 million and highlighted priorities that include IT modernization, a property tax system transition and staffing adjustments.

Anderson framed the budget by function, saying 57% of the department’s requested operating budget is for salaries and benefits and 32% is for IT, which includes payments to the Agency of Digital Services. “Between those two categories, you're really looking at 90% of our budget,” Anderson said.

The department presented several ongoing and planned projects. Anderson described a near-term migration of the current-use property program into the department’s tax system (VITAACS) and a broader transition to the Vermont Property Information Exchange, a statewide property-tax IT…