This invention, which enables the new IBM Tax Collections Optimizer, describes a technique that can help businesses and governments to optimize the collection of delinquent tax debts. The invention uses a unique combination of data analytics and optimization techniques to automatically create individual action plans that maximize debt collection, given past historical data of tax collections activities.
The optimized collection process takes into account a variety of key factors, including collector case load, personnel resources, and the anticipated effectiveness of the suggested actions. It also assesses potential constraints governing the collection actions, as well as potential business and legal constraints on collection actions at any given situation for a given debtor.
The solution optimizes the collections actions of agents by taking into account the complex dependencies between resources, business needs and legal constraints. Using a variety of taxpayer data, such as the amount owed and past payment history, the system develops a plan for collecting from the entire population of delinquent tax payers.
IBM’s patented tax collection optimizer is helping organizations like the New York State Department of Taxation, more quickly and efficiently improve their collections results and enhance the productivity of agents.
U.S. Patent #7,519,553 was issued to inventors Naoki Abe, James J. Bennett, David L. Jensen, Richard D. Lawrence, Prem Melville, Edwin P. Pednault, Cezar Pendus, Chandan Reddy, and Vincent Thomas.