Dunne unveils new way to give to quake appeal

New Zealanders will be able to donate their accumulated tax credits from donations they have made in the current tax year to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne announced today.

Last year tax credits claimed for donations were worth about $154 million.

“That is by any measure a substantial amount of money in tax credits, and if some or all of that were gifted to the Appeal, it would be a very significant level of gifting,” Mr Dunne said in an address to the Tax Agents Institute of New Zealand annual conference in Wellington.

From next month, people will fill in their annual tax credit claim form for their donations and will have the option of redirecting their tax credit to the Appeal.

Mr Dunne described it as “a kind of gift aid scheme”.

He said tax credit forms will be posted to people from the end of this month. They will also be available for downloading from the Inland Revenue website (www.ird.govt.nz) along with instructions on how to redirect tax credits to the Appeal.

“The message I have been getting is that many people want to be able to do more.

“This is another way to do that. It is a simple way of giving without actually opening your wallet.”

Mr Dunne added that New Zealanders could also use the payroll giving scheme to give to the Appeal.

Payroll giving is available to all employers who file their Employer Monthly Schedules to Inland Revenue electronically. Further information can also be found on the Inland Revenue website.

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