Individuals forums - most controversial comments

This is how I do my banking

Deitrich von Stade — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:41:24 +0000

This is how I do my banking and manage most of my bills. Provided I can do everything online that I can currently do over the phone or in writing then I think this is a good idea.

Depends how the website

portia — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:31:40 +0000

Depends how the website works. Trying to do this year's Personal Tax Summary on line was useless. I still have to wait until July to get it. The Government must be saving thousands of dollars by Inland Revenue being so slow in issuing refunds. In the days of IR5s, I would have my refund in weeks not months.

What is meant by small?

portia — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:28:01 +0000

What is meant by small? Apart from very small refunds - perhaps $10 - if a person can be bothered going through the hoops that it takes to get a refund, Inland Revenue should be obliged to make it, especially if it is all going to be done on-line in the future.

Yes, I would like to be able

Bea — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:51:02 +0000

Yes, I would like to be able to conduct all transactions with Inland Revenue online. It would mean I can do it after work hours.

I strongly disagree that PAYE

Jim — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 05:07:28 +0000

I strongly disagree that PAYE should be a final tax.

Working less during the year while taxing at a full year rate will punish anyone over the month threshold discussed.

Sure, IRD wants to reduce its compliance costs and to hold onto small refunds that have high marginal costs for refunding.

In my opinion, that's tough. We work to earn a living, and that is money we earned. Keeping more than the absolute calculated correct amount is both lazy and immoral.

It is up to IRD to design systems that make their job easier at their own end, without penalising the hard working public. If you want to collect as much tax as possible, fine.

But it is not a one way street. We have burdens to bear to comply with your tax law, you have a burden to make sure we can get back as much benefit as we can.

If we have refunds available, we should be able to claim them, end of story.

So to answer the question, everyone should be able to file an income tax return. If you have small amounts due from us, and the cost benefit of you collecting them is not worth your trouble, then that is your call, not ours.

$50 might not mean anything to such a huge organisation, but it will buy shoes for the kids, food, or at least some benefit in our lives.

Such a move would only provide benefit to IRD, not the public who, believe it or not, you are here to serve.

Great idea. Would it be

D Miller — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:05:48 +0000

Great idea. Would it be possible to also include details of interest received & RWT deducted from banks on your summary of earnings? Employment income & PAYE details are included, but if the IRD could collect the info from banks about interest & RWT it would save time & hassle.

Yes, the convenience is

kayebird — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:47:55 +0000

Yes, the convenience is undeniable, but...

I think there are two issues here:

Firstly, less paper and more dependence on digital could contribute to global warming, not help it (this is an area of current debate)...I would like to know how this increase in digital dependence will affect IRD's carbon footprint, especially in terms of the increased server traffic and need for new servers (not sure exactly how this works)

Second is a two-pronged issue:

1. Not everyone has fast internet or access to reliable computers. Yes, they could go to a library (unreliable too) or an internet cafe (extra cost) but what are the stats on the amount of people who this will be a disadvantage for? Are lower socio-economic groups going to struggle to fulfil the requirements? What is the current/proposed state of NZ broadband to allow this high traffic flow?

2. What percentage of the population are not digitally literate? Will there be paper options available for those people e.g. people who choose not to have an email address or who are worried about having their personal data online (don't use internet banking etc.) When you say secure, how exactly does that work?

In terms of the actual return itself, it is purely another format of the same thing we do now, so still requires all the other paperwork to be able to fill it out. So, no change of time there, except if we don't have to wait for a personal tax summary (maybe these could be online?)

Most of my time is wasted being on hold or waiting for a call back for up to an hour. Maybe if most people could just access their information at a click of a button, this wait time would be significantly reduced!

Make it something I can

Deitrich von Stade — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 11:03:08 +0000

Make it something I can choose rather than be forced into doing and I might consider it. Id also want to option to turn the paper back on if the electronic versions weren't up to scratch. Id probably insist on a paper notice of assessment just so Ive got the physical proof of my status. Electronic records "can" be changed. A piece of paper with a receipt number gives me reassurance everything is OK

As for anything else I get sent, just email it to me. If I miss a payment, email me. If I forget a return, email me. After Ive filed and squared everything up let me choose to get a piece of paper.

Not everyone has on-line

portia — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:21:52 +0000

Not everyone has on-line access.

I definitely think they

kayebird — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:32:08 +0000

I definitely think they should be available as POD (print on demand). There are systems out there which are now available for cheap print on demand. I think people should have the choice and the option. Trying to read and navigate heavy information such as IRD info is not always easy on a screen. Internet relies on electricity too remember and computers are liable to break down.

I agree though that providing information targeted to each individual's circumstances, and more accessible general information, on the Inland Revenue website is a good thing. But more people will be ringing up about the details if they don't have easy access in an easy to read format.

The proposal says "PAYE

Bea — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:31:59 +0000

The proposal says "PAYE information will only be shared if there is a clear benefit to the individual while maintaining Inland Revenue’s current privacy and tax secrecy obligations".

I would not wish government departments to be the judges of what is a clear benefit to me - it's very Orwellian. I feel that's my decision to make.

I think it would be awesome

wsandle — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:18:32 +0000

I think it would be awesome if I could scan and upload my reciept from donations etc and file these online.

Why cant IRD hurry up the tax returns? cant understand why it takes 10 Weeks???

Inland Revenue should be

portia — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:23:40 +0000

Inland Revenue should be obliged to notify a person if it looks as though his or her tax has been overpaid.

If a taxpayer is going to

Taxpayer92 — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 06:38:29 +0000

If a taxpayer is going to provide a bank account number, then the IRD should make a payment.

Yes, make cheques by mail subject to a minimum amount.

For those who will never use

Bea — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 11:02:25 +0000

For those who will never use the internet, I would like to see them assigned a local IRD employee who is a single point of contact that they have a direct phone number for and can make an appointment with.

Alternatively, the IRD could contract out personal service for non-internet users to chartered accountants - in the same way that they contract out Child Support Administrative Reviews to lawyers.

No. Firstly you need to

Kim — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:01:23 +0000

No. Firstly you need to define what 'small' is. You maybe talking about anything up to $200+. Also you say that the improved system will ensure that there is no error between PAYE and business software - this is difficult to believe. There are myriads of ways to qualify for a tax refund and everyone so have the right to be able to check they have paid the correct amount of tax and claim a refund if needed. This is simply IRD trying to cut down their workload of which I imagine a far bit consists of people filing for Personal Tax Summaries at the end of the financial year. Move it to online to increase efficiencies but don't take away our right to check we've paid the correct amount of tax.

I strongly disagree with this

Bea — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:46:35 +0000

I strongly disagree with this proposal. IRD already has a penalties regime to discourage late payment. There is also the frequent circumstance where in a family business, there is a credit in one taxpayer and a debt in another, or a credit in one period and a debt in another or a credit in one tax type and a debt in another and they have yet to be offset against each other. IRD would be disclosing the debts to credit reporters when no net debt exists.

If lenders who use credit reporters wish for assurance that there is no tax debt, they are perfectly able to seek proof from the borrower such as a letter from a chartered accountant or a printout of tax balances.

They should not collect debts

Bea — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:22:27 +0000

They should not collect debts that are less than the cost of collecting them. They should, however, issue refunds when requested. That money is owed to the taxpayer and is not the government's to keep.

Cheques by mail should not be subject to a minimum amount. A taxpayer should not be required to give the IRD their bank account number in order to extract a refund out of them - they should be entitled to keep their bank account number private from the Inland Revenue. IRD has powers to dip into people's bank accounts for various reasons under tax legislation - taxpayers should not be forced to allow IRD to build up a database of their private bank account numbers that IRD can then use in the future.

I agree with the above two

Bea — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:10:42 +0000

I agree with the above two that everyone should be able to file a return if they want to, but that under certain circumstances they should not be required to file a return. There are already circumstances under which people are not required to file a return, so I think the current rules are close to adequate. IRD's online system needs to be improved to make it easier for individuals to calculate whether they have overpaid tax or not, so they can easily make the choice.

Changes that would be beneficial are: raising the threshold of overseas interest/dividends earnt before you are required to file a return (currently only $200), and not being required to file a return to bring forward a loss from the previous year or excess imputation credits from the previous year (they should be brought forward automatically without the taxpayer being required to do anything).

The taxpayer's right to

Bea — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:55:21 +0000

The taxpayer's right to confidentiality should be paramount and should not be breached under any circumstances by IRD. If someone is seriously ripping off the tax system as in the example, then it becomes public through due process of the Courts. IRD should not pre-empt this. If IRD had the right to release a taxpayer's personal information in this way, it would be able to use that right to lean on the taxpayer. Nobody would wish to publically debate the actions of the IRD for fear of the IRD leaning on them in this way.