Government responds to Tax Working Group report

The Coalition Government today released its response to the recommendations of the independent Tax Working Group report. The report found that on the whole New Zealand’s tax system was working well, but made a number of recommendations to improve fairness, balance and structure. The Government is not adopting any of the recommendations on capital gains taxation and has agreed no further work is necessary on that aspect of the report.…  Read more

Inland Revenue to shut down services

The tax system is about to close for a week as Inland Revenue implements its biggest changes in 20 years. Online services in myIR will be unavailable from 3pm Thursday afternoon and will reopen at 8am on Friday 26 April 2019. Inland Revenue contact centres and front counters at its offices will also be closed. Inland Revenue Deputy Commissioner Sharon Thompson says the dates were carefully chosen to cause the…  Read more

Court News: a snapshot of recent cases

Inland Revenue collects more than $70 billion in revenue each year – money which goes towards our hospitals, schools and society in general. When taxpayers evade tax and don’t file returns, neglect to pay workers KiwiSaver contributions or do cash jobs they’re stealing from all Kiwis. We rely on trust and honesty of taxpayers but when people aren’t upfront and try to cheat the system, Inland Revenue regularly prosecutes taxpayers…  Read more

NZ-China economic ties strengthened

Economic ties between New Zealand and China are being strengthened with the successful negotiation of a new taxation treaty. The double tax agreement was signed by New Zealand’s Ambassador to China and by the Commissioner of the State Taxation Administration of China, at a signing ceremony in Beijing witnessed by the Prime Minister. “An update to the existing Double Tax Agreement (DTA) will reduce barriers to cross-border trade and investment,”…  Read more

Get ready for payday filing

Payday filing is less than a week away from becoming mandatory so Inland Revenue is making sure all New Zealand employers are set up and ready to go from April 1. This is when employers will be required to send their payroll information to Inland Revenue whenever they pay their staff. Inland Revenue Customer Segment Leader Richard Owen says the focus is firmly on helping employers get that first filing…  Read more

Inland Revenue preparing for unprecedented demand

Inland Revenue is gearing up to take around 1.9 million calls between now and July – a 23 percent increase on the same period last year – as the modernisation of New Zealand’s tax system continues. With the third stage of the process rolling out over Easter, Inland Revenue has brought in and trained more than 300 temporary workers to help cope with what will be an unprecedented demand, says…  Read more

Auckland accountant sentenced for evading more than $1 million in tax

Papakura accountant Glenn William Archibald made a career out of filing income tax returns for his clients, but for nearly a decade didn’t file any income tax returns or pay any tax himself. Those years of evading taxes caught up with him today at Papakura District Court, where the 72-year-old was given 12 months’ home detention and 200 hours of community work. Archibald was sentenced on 11 charges, having evaded…  Read more

Further steps to combat tax evasion

Revenue Minister Stuart Nash has announced New Zealand is expanding its global ability to combat tax evasion by joining forces with authorities in 30 countries and jurisdictions. Cabinet has agreed to add another 30 territories to the current list of 60 jurisdictions where New Zealand has information-sharing agreements as part of a global standard known as the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI). “The addition of 30 new territories reflects increased…  Read more

Making sure multinationals pay their fair share

New Zealand is to consult on the design of changes to tax rules which currently allow multinational companies in the digital services field to do business here without paying income tax. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Revenue Minister Stuart Nash say Cabinet has agreed to issue a discussion document about how to update our tax framework to ensure multinational companies pay their fair share of tax in this country. “Highly…  Read more

Simplified tax for short-stay accommodation providers proposed

Inland Revenue is seeking feedback on a proposal to simplify tax obligations for people who rent out their property as short-term accommodation. IRD’s Director Public Rulings Susan Price says if someone gets money from renting out their house, a room, holiday home or a sleep-out – it’s income – and they have to file a tax return. “People renting out a room in their home can claim costs like advertising…  Read more

Always use IR secure channels to update bank details

Inland Revenue is advising customers to always use its secure online services to update bank details and avoid scammers who target Kiwi taxpayers. Automatic tax refunds are coming this year and in the last month two e-mail scams surfaced asking taxpayers to fill in a form to receive a refund owed to them. IRD spokesperson Bernadette Newman says updated information is important but it should be done only through the…  Read more

Payroll software providers signing up with Inland Revenue to offer payday filing

The new payday filing system works best for employers with payroll software and Inland Revenue has been working closely with the providers to make sure they’re well placed to meet their clients’ needs when it becomes mandatory in April. This is when all employers will be required to submit their employment information every time they pay their staff. Customer segment leader Richard Owen says a few software providers are already…  Read more

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