Tax Updates: 15 July 2024

Welcome to this week’s review of tax issues where Richard comments on what’s been happening in the world of tax over the past week. If you have a question or would like a second opinion on any national or international tax issues, please contact Richard via email at richard@gilshep.co.nz.

Focus by IR on compliance and tax debt

Having been allocated $116m in compliance funding for the next four years in Budget 2024, Inland Revenue (IR) will focus on collecting debt and improving compliance in the tax debt and tax system.

IR has recently confirmed that funding for the 2024–2025 financial year will be targeted at the following:

• the hidden economy and organised crime;
• electronic sales suppression tools;
• GST integrity;
• student loan overseas-based borrowers; and,
• increased audit activity.

It will be interesting to see if the last item also brings a more aggressive approach from the Revenue when undertaking risk reviews, an attitude many of you mentioned you have recently experienced in the debt collection space.

This article was originally published through the ‘A Week In Review’ newsletter. If you would like to receive Richard’s tax updates every Monday morning, you can subscribe here.