TaxBlog

A case against former MP Donna Awatere Huata of failing to file tax returns was adjourned at Hastings District Court today.

Awatere Huata is accused of failing to file tax returns for the financial years ending in 2003, 2004, and 2005.

The case was adjourned until July 27.

Bookmark to:
          

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has apologised for wrongly sending out about 3500 letters regarding tax summaries.

The department sent the letters out telling recipients there were errors in their summaries for the 2005/2006 year.

One woman told the Southland Times she had already received her personal tax summary for the year, along with a refund, before receiving a letter saying the summary was wrong and another would be sent.

The problem was picked up when it was discovered the IRD number on the second letter was not hers, despite it containing the correct name and address.

Bookmark to:
          

A discussion document released today proposes codifying the tax rules on general partnerships and introducing new rules on limited partnerships. The proposed changes are intended to complement the planned introduction of modern regulatory rules for limited partnerships. Submissions close on 11 August. For more information see the government’s media statement and the discussion document, “General and limited partnerships – proposed tax changes”.

Bookmark to:
          

New Zealand’s double tax agreement with Spain passed through its final legislative stages today and is expected to come into force in late July, while the new DTA with Poland awaits only Polish legislation.

Bookmark to:
          

TaxBlog would like to sincerely apologise to Mr Rob Earle for conclusions made in a previous post on this blog which were not true. Tax Blog made several assumptions based on what was reported in the media and Mr Earle has contacted this blog and set the record straight.

These conclusions were unfair to Mr. Earle and his company IGS.

Bookmark to:
          

Mr Foss drew attention to Inland Revenue’s claim that it had improved response rates to customer queries. He said his experience was very different.

“I have spent – and my wife has spent – hours on the phone trying to get through on various numbers to IRD,” Mr Foss said at the meeting.

“I am bringing up a personal case here, because thousands of Kiwis are having the same problem. How on Earth am I able to get through to your operational staff to discuss an issue?”2 per pay day per employee.

Bookmark to:
          

The government’s new payroll subsidy to encourage small businesses to make use of the services of payroll agents has been set by Order in Council at $2 per pay day per employee.

Bookmark to:
          

The government’s new payroll subsidy to encourage small businesses to make use of the services of payroll agents has been set by Order in Council at $2 per pay day per employee.

Bookmark to:
          

Roth CPA has some interesting observations from the IRS convention in the States:

Mark Matthews, IRS deputy commissioner for services and enforecment, had a sharp observation on efforts to close the “tax gap,” the difference between the amount of taxes imposed in theory and the amount collected:

Matthews acknowledged that the IRS will also have to get better at using the data it already has, but said that with significant help on the funding side and some legislative improvements, $50 billion to $100 billion could be shaved from the $345 billion tax gap.

“We’ll never get it to zero. We’ll never get close to zero,” he said. “You wouldn’t want to live in a country where it was close to zero”.

A study released later in the day by three researchers, among them the IRS’s Edward Emblom, asserted in its preliminary results that increased audits can have a significant effect on compliance for all taxpayers.

According to the study, doubling the audit rate from 1 percent to 2 percent on businesses with incomes between $25,000 and $100,000 reduces noncompliance by 7 percent, while doubling the audit rate for larger businesses had similar but less pronounced results.

Bookmark to:
          

Quote from the tax foundation:

What is the difference between a direct subsidy on the spending side to a company that is poor spending policy and an equal tax deduction that is poor tax policy? Nothing, except that going through the tax code is often less transparent, and therefore easier for tax lobbyists to get inserted into law.

A good point!

Bookmark to: