ACT Finance spokesman Rodney Hide said today that the $550,000 compensation for IRD victims Jan and Murray Willis was good news for the Willises and good news for all taxpayers.

“The Willises can now put 14 years of state-inflicted hell behind them and get on with their lives.

“No amount of money can compensate them for the financial and personal torment they have been through, but they are now able to move on, with the government and IRD having recognised and accepted the terrible injustice inflicted upon them.

“The Willis settlement is also good news for taxpayers. We now have tangible recognition that the IRD has run out of control with some taxpayers. The challenge is to put it right.

“The government can’t afford to compensate every taxpayer who has been badly treated by the IRD but their plight and experiences should no longer be denied. The Willis case is just one of many revealed in my 1999 book: “The Power to Destroy”.

“Taxpayers who have been badly treated like the Willises need a forum in which they can come forward and be heard.

“We also must identify and hold to account those IRD officers and managers responsible for the injustice inflicted upon the Willises.

“Further, we also need to ensure that taxpayers are no longer unjustly treated. Tax law must be amended to give taxpayers proper rights to ensure that they can’t just be gunned down like Jan and Murray Willis. We also need proper review and complaint procedures so that when taxpayers like Jan and Murray complain they are not just fobbed off.

“I am pleased for Jan and Murray Willis. But my heart goes out to all those taxpayers who have had their lives and businesses destroyed but who haven’t had a chance to have their case heard before a Parliamentary Select Committee,” Rodney Hide said.

ENDS

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