Have your say about the future of the tax system – tax simplification

Inland Revenue is transforming the tax system to make it easier for New Zealanders to pay taxes and receive entitlements. Inland Revenue is talking with a wide range of industry and interest groups, businesses and individual taxpayers about what people want from the changes.  

In August 2014, I was asked to chair Inland Revenue’s Taxpayers’ Simplification Panel.

The Panel provides a channel for New Zealanders to have a say about how we can make Inland Revenue’s services faster and easier to use.  We want to ensure the future tax administration is cost effective with more certainty and less compliance costs for customers. In the last 18 months the Panel learnt about Inland Revenue’s business, its transformation and, more importantly, its customers.

During this time we have provided feedback to Inland Revenue on the potential uptake of ideas the Government has been consulting on.  

The Panel has also been outtalking to business owners about the proposed changes and encouraging them to get involved in the consultation process because the outcome of these discussions will determine how businesses will interact and communicate with Inland Revenue in the future.

Three new members have come on board to join the existing members Brian Steele, Scott Mason and myself as Chair. I’m delighted to welcome Lisa Ford, Rob Neru and Raewyn Fox to the Panel. 

The new members come from a variety of backgrounds; they will provide an in-depth knowledge of the business world and will bring valuable insights from the various communities they work in. The new members bring a vast range of experience to the Panel and will make valuable contribution to New Zealand’s future tax system. 

We realise that New Zealanders want to spend less time on tax and more time on their businesses and lives. We are keen to talk with people who might not have been involved in the debate about tax administration until now. Over the next six months the Panel will be visiting regions around the country to get public opinion on a range of tax matters. Also, you can visit the Future Tax website and let us know how things can be done better.  

As part of Inland Revenue’s transformation the Government has launched its second set of consultation documents - Towards a new Tax Administration Act and Better Administration of PAYE and GST. These proposals will affect all businesses.  

Here are some of the suggested PAYE and GST proposals the Government is consulting on:

• Submitting PAYE information and payment to Inland Revenue at the time the business process is run, e.g. when the pay is calculated and the employee is paid. 

• Modernising PAYE rules, for example tax deducted from an extra pay, tax treatment of holiday pay.

• Allowing businesses to submit GST returns to Inland Revenue directly from their accounting software.

• Making GST refunds only by direct credit to a bank account unless it would cause serious hardship or is not practical. 

You can find more information and make a submission on the Government’s website www.makingtaxsimpler.ird.govt.nz.  Submissions on the proposals close on 12 February 2016.

I encourage anyone who wishes to share their ideas about how Inland Revenue can make tax simpler to visit the Panel’s website www.futuretax.org.nz and take part in the discussion. 

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