Simplifying Tax for New Zealand

Simplifying Tax for New Zealand

The way we pay tax is about to be made much simpler as the government looks to introduce new measures aimed at saving time and money in dealing with Inland Revenue.

The plan is to move away from the current manual paper-dependent Inland Revenue system to a modern digital service, to be implemented in stages over the next couple of years.

Launching a public consultation website earlier this year, Revenue Minister said making tax simpler to comply, would save businesses billions of dollars.

“It’s my hope that we will be able to tackle the issue of provisional tax later this year and develop a type of PAYE for businesses which better reflects their income and therefore reduces overpayments of tax,” he said.

An Inland Revenue spokesman said the department had to change how it did business because its role had expanded and customer expectation has changed in a 24/7 world.

“New Zealand is recognised as a great place to start and build a business and we need to capitalise on that by making it easier to engage with Inland Revenue and government, he said.

“We want to deliver more benefits for businesses by cutting ‘red tape’, reducing compliance costs, promoting productivity, and saving time and money.”

The department wanted to deliver “better, smarter and more cost effective services” for customers, he said.

“Our customers want to spend less time filling out paper forms, especially with different government agencies, and they want to do this activity online or on mobile devices and quickly.”

Hataitai business owner Lindsay Phillips said making paying tax simpler would save small businesses money in the long run by not having to spend as much on accountants.

Currently she paid an accountant to take care of her taxes instead of spending hours each week sorting it.

“It worked out to two and a half hours a week for [my accountant] to do everything. I just pay a monthly fee and I don’t have to worry about it – which is great.”

“If it was a lot easier, and if I didn’t have to think about it too much, I probably would [sort my taxes] myself.”

The government will publish the various proposals online over the next year, with the new policy set to be formally introduced in 2017.
To view and contribute to the government’s proposals to the tax system visit www.makingtaxsimpler.ird.govt.nz

ENDS

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