IRD collects $4.1 billion of tax debt in 2013/14

Revenue Minister Todd McClay says Inland Revenue’s focus on collecting tax debt has paid big dividends, with $752 million more being collected in 2013/14 than in the previous year.

“This Government has invested heavily in providing Inland Revenue with the resources to bolster its tax compliance activities.

“In Budget 2014 we invested an additional $132 million – which was on top of the nearly $200 million already allocated through Budgets 2010 and 2012 for tax compliance and debt collection work.

“This means that Inland Revenue has additional resource and capacity to deal with more cases, and as such debt identification has increased,” says Mr McClay.

Inland Revenue has focused on collecting newer debt, which resulted in over 565,000 cases being resolved during the year.

Year-on-year tax debt is reducing in most regions. Of the 17 tax regions, 11 have seen a reduction of tax debt in 2014 (as compared to 2013).

“People with tax debt are more likely to pay if they are contacted before penalties and interest pile up, and Inland Revenue has a number of ways they can help people struggling with their debt – such as grace periods, instalment plans, and in some circumstances, remission or relief from penalties and interest.

“I would encourage anyone with tax debt to pick up the phone and work with Inland Revenue on a way forward as our focus on debt collection will continue in 2015,” says Mr McClay.