Podcasts about Inland Revenue

This week rising overdue tax debt reveals inconsistencies in Inland Revenue's management of the issue, could a capital gains tax help solve the house-price affordability crisis? And how many taxpayers are reporting overseas income?

A tax expert says there is a concerning trend as businesses owe more and more to Inland Revenue. Businesses owe more than $1.4 billion in unpaid GST and PAYE from the 2025 tax year. Only $66 million of that is from businesses or individuals that are bankrupt or in liquidation. Deloitte Tax Partner Robyn Walker told Mike Hosking the construction sector alone owes about $1 billion. She says it is difficult to say how it stacks up against other industries. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tax expert says there is a concerning trend as businesses owe more and more to Inland Revenue. Businesses owe more than $1.4 billion in unpaid GST and PAYE from the 2025 tax year. Only $66 million of that is from businesses or individuals that are bankrupt or in liquidation. Deloitte Tax Partner Robyn Walker told Mike Hosking the construction sector alone owes about $1 billion. She says it is difficult to say how it stacks up against other industries. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In recent months, everyone from Treasury to Inland Revenue and an organisation representing accountants has suggested New Zealand needs a rethink of its tax settings. Money correspondent Susan Edmunds spoke to Corin Dann.

How a family earning under $60,000 can face an effective marginal tax rate of 71.2%, the Green Party and the Taxpayer's Union agree on a tax change and Inland Revenue updates its guidance on when a taxpayer is carrying on a "business" for income tax purposes.

The Police Minister is defending the focus of a new anti-corruption taskforce. The Serious Fraud Office will aim to understand threats to the public sector. The six-month pilot will be limited to six Government agencies - Inland Revenue, ACC, Corrections, MSD, Land Information NZ, and Sport NZ. Mark Mitchell told Ryan Bridge that globally, some of the biggest recent corruption issues - relate to sporting codes. He wants to ensure there's best practice to maintains the country's low-corruption reputation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday we were talking about Chlöe Swarbrick's grand plans for economic reform, and today brings another interesting suggestion for economic reform, this time from Sir Roger Douglas and Professor Robert MacCulloch. I wonder if now is the time to be seriously looking at reforming our taxation system. Over the years, we've experimented with, we've dabbled in various taxes on wealth: estate duties, gift duties, stamp duties on property sales, the sort of things that other countries have and have adapted, but most were eventually abolished. The absence of a general wealth tax, capital gains tax, or inheritance tax has been a recurring topic of debate. No New Zealand government has been able to introduce a wealth tax and maintain it, but it's a staple of the Green Party's proposed Green Budget. Chlöe Swarbrick says we've done really big things in the past and there is no reason why we shouldn't again. She says in the 1930s and 40s, after world wars and the Great Depression, we came together as a country and decided to build a nation which looked at the foundations of public health care, public education, and public housing. Now, Sir Roger Douglas, former finance minister and the architect of the most sweeping economic reforms since the establishment of cradle to grave social Security and the one who did away with the high taxes, and Professor Robert MacCulloch, who you will have heard from time to time on the show, have released their plan for an economic reform. They first developed the plan for economic reform in 2016 but have updated it for 2025. They point out that by 2060, 26% of New Zealanders will be over 65, up from 16% in 2021. Professor MacCulloch and Sir Roger said that income tax on earnings up to $60,000 a year should be redirected into individual savings accounts to fund each person's health care, pension, and risk cover, and that would replace much of the current public system with private provision. This needs to be done, they say, because Treasury and Inland Revenue have both raised questions in the past year about how the government will be able to collect enough tax to fund the increasing cost of NZ Super and healthcare, the Superfund notwithstanding. People who didn't have enough in their individual accounts could still be helped by the public system, which would be funded on taxes collected on income over $60,000 a year. So under $60,000, you pay tax of a sort, but it's for you and it goes into a savings account to fund what you'll need in the future. So this would mean larger numbers of middle and higher income people paying for themselves while the system helped lower income people. MacCulloch said that would mean government costs were reduced, the quality of outcomes would be increased, and the plight of low-income earners would be improved. He says too many low-income people have no savings in KiwiSaver because they're going from paycheck to paycheck, this model would help to address that. And if you look at his model, it shows that an individual could save around $21,000 annually. You'd put $9,450 into a health account, $7,350 for superannuation, and $4,200 for risk cover. And they'd drop the corporate tax rate to help fund employer contributions. Robert MacCulloch argues that savings, not taxation reform, offers the ability to gain efficiencies in healthcare. A drop in corporate taxes would help fund employer contributions and rather than the government dictating where to go, people could choose their preferred public or private supplier. So bold suggestions. Douglas and MacCulloch's more bold than Swarbrick. But does Chlöe Swarbrick have a point that we can initiate institutional reform if we want to? It's been done before. It's bold and it's visionary and it's scary. The bigger question though, is: should we? Is the tax system that we have right now working? Chlöe Swarbrick, Sir Roger, and Professor MacCulloch argue it's not. Unlikely bedfellows, but bedfellows they are in terms of saying what we have right now is not fit for purpose and certainly will not be fit for purpose at all in the future. Do we need to make institutional change around our tax system and the way we pay for health care, the way we pay for superannuation as we get older? The cradle to grave Social Security plan, devised in the 1930s is still pretty much around in the year 2025, nearly 100 years later. Times have changed, does our tax system need to change with it? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister eyes up the major banks for a tax increase, announces changes to the FamilyBoost scheme, Inland Revenue releases submissions on the taxation of not-for-proftis and a major report on climate adaptation ducks a key issue.

To start the morning, I wondered about looking at the fairness - or otherwise - of the corporate tax rate. The Finance Minister, according to a New Zealand Herald story, has quietly asked Inland Revenue to look at the appropriateness of the tax settings being applied to banks. Nicola Willis confirmed to the Herald a wide range of options is being considered to ensure the major banks are paying their fair share of tax. She wants advice back ahead of next year's Budget, which is expected to be delivered just months before the 2026 general election. She said, “our work to enhance banking competition is wide-ranging and as part of this of sought advice on whether the major banks are paying their fair share of tax,”. I've been interested, she went on, in how New Zealand's bank tax regime compares with Australia and elsewhere, particularly in light of the significant profits Australian banks make from Kiwi customers. No decisions have been made, recommendations have not yet been taken to Cabinet, so she's not going to comment on specific proposals at this stage. I would have thought if the company tax rate was a set amount and the banks are paying that, then they're paying their fair share of tax. I was listening to Heather talking to Claire Matthews, the banking expert from Massey, this morning. Claire Matthews said the way she thought it might work would be the corporate tax rate would be lowered for all corporates except the major trading banks. Everybody else will be lowered, but banks, so they wouldn't in effect be punished, they just wouldn't benefit from any changes to this tax regime. But as Claire Matthews pointed out, banks already contribute a significant amount to the New Zealand economy. They pay a very large portion, something like 20% of total tax, total corporate tax in New Zealand. So they're paying a huge amount of tax, so if you drop the corporate tax rate but keep the bank's tax at a higher level, you, the Government could manage to avoid the actual impact on their tax take. I think there's a real danger here. Are they going to suddenly make supermarkets pay more because they, too are Government's favourite whipping boys and girls? Why are they being singled out? Sure, I would love it if I didn't have to pay the house price twice over, but I understand that when you're lending money to individuals and to businesses, there is risk involved with that so you have to pay for that risk. I don't imagine the banks would just close their doors, decamp and head back over the Tasman, there's still money to be made. But I just don't understand why banks would be asked to pay more while the rest of corporate New Zealand pays less. I don't want a bank to fail. It's not in the country's best interest for a financial institution to go under. We've seen the damage done when the BNZ had to be bailed out, and then the different finance companies were bailed out, why on Earth would we want to see banks fail if they're paying their fair share of tax? I have no skin in the game other than a hefty mortgage, which I would love to see reduced, but I don't necessarily see it's the bank's fault that they are the ones who profit from lending money. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There appears to be a feeling we don't like the fact that banks make money. Inland Revenue's digging into the tax settings being applied to banks at the Government's request - as it seeks to ensure they're paying their fair share. But Massey University banking expert Claire Matthews told Heather du Plessis-Allen she believes it's motivated by a general bad attitude towards banks. She claims the Government's looking to take more money off them, as they're perceived as big organizations that make a lot of money. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Inland Revenue's draft long-term insights briefing goes out for consultation, have the G7 killed off Pillar Two and is it time for a major rethink of the Student Loan scheme?

Positive signs when it comes to consumer arrears, but some businesses are still doing it tough. The latest Centrix data for June shows the number of people behind on payments is down on last year, for the fifth consecutive month in a row. At the same time company liquidations have risen 27% year-on-year. Chief Operating Officer Monika Lacey says that's partly due to increased enforcement, after a softer approach from credit providers during Covid. She says Inland Revenue is among those businesses which is now taking a normal approach again, and that's having an impact. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A draft Inland Revenue briefing supports lifting the GST rate if required - and notes tax credits could help people on lower incomes. The IRD briefing also brought up the lack of a capital gains tax, but did not endorse any specific view on it. Tax expert Geof Nightingale told Heather du Plessis-Allan that lifting GST is a fast and efficient way to raise revenue. But he says while quick, it's much harder on lower-income people.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you feel about the prospect of paying higher income tax rates and more GST? I think it's inevitable. So does the Inland Revenue Department. Because of our ageing population. Especially if people think we can have a whole lot more of us 65 and over —which is going to happen— and still provide the same level of assistance and support that is provided now. So IRD is making its case for more tax in what's called its “Long-term Insights Briefing”, which puts ideas on the table for governments to consider and to help the country plan for the future. It's saying cutting costs is one way, but it would be much better to generate more government revenue. To collect more tax. Which I agree with. It's saying today that the future is uncertain, and we need a tax system that can be changed relatively easily, which is why it's focusing on income tax and GST. Because those taxes already exist. Income tax makes up 52% of the tax take and GST accounts for 25%. So there's nearly 80% of the total tax take covered just through PAYE and GST. Company tax, by the way, accounts for just 17% of the tax take. Here are a few more numbers which IRD is using to justify more tax money coming in to cope with the ageing population. At the moment, 16% of us are 65-and-over. But we're on our way to, eventually, having a quarter of our population 65 and older and somehow, we have to pay for that. Because as the Infrastructure Commission pointed out this week, we're going to need less schools and more hospitals. But as we know, hospitals are a lot more expensive than schools and we're going to have to find the money somehow. IRD isn't giving any specific numbers. So it isn't saying what it thinks GST could or should be increased to. Likewise, it's not saying anything about what income tax rates could be increased to. It's just saying that we need to get used to the idea of paying more. Which is another demonstration, isn't it, of how the Government made a mistake reducing the amount of tax revenue it gets. Because I know it talked about us paying less tax and reducing costs at the same time. But running a country costs money, you can only cut costs to a certain point. And when you throw an ageing population into the mix —and the costs that come with that— we all have no option but to chip in a bit more money to pay for it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Cantin and I discuss Inland Revenue's recent trust disclosures post-implementation review and John's independent review of the trust disclosure regime. What are the purposes of such reviews and what John found surprising.

This week Inland Revenue reminds everyone that twin-cab utes are subject to FBT The results of a clampdown on the horticultural sector A damning new report from the IMF highlights New Zealand's low productivity growth is this a by-product of not taxing capital? And is the era of supply side economics over.

The Inland Revenue Department has unveiled the horticulture sector hasn't paid their fair share of taxes. Over the last 10 months, the IRD has found $45 million dollars of undeclared tax - and almost 100 audits are in the works now, within the sector. Inland Revenue spokesperson Tony Morris says the department is seeing people being paid under the table, undeclared cash sales and withholding tax going unrecorded or not being deducted correctly "It's quite a complex industry - if there's payments going through with cash or what else, it's easy to get lost or for things to happen intentionally, where it's hard to track the money." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Inland Revenue Department has unveiled the horticulture sector hasn't paid their fair share of taxes. Over the last 10 months, the IRD has found $45 million dollars of undeclared tax - and almost 100 audits are in the works now, within the sector. Inland Revenue spokesperson Tony Morris says the department is seeing people being paid under the table, undeclared cash sales and withholding tax going unrecorded or not being deducted correctly "It's quite a complex industry - if there's payments going through with cash or what else, it's easy to get lost or for things to happen intentionally, where it's hard to track the money." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why the Government backed away from charities taxation reform, the latest Rich List re-ignites the wealth tax debate, Inland Revenue's new kilometre rates for the 2025 tax year have a surprise and how long does it take Inland Revenue to answer the phone?

Inland Revenue's cracking down on unpaid tax bills. It's been allocated an extra $35 million in Budget 25 to boost its tax compliance and collection activities. The tax department expects to return an additional $4 for every dollar in the first year, and $8 in year two. IRD Commissioner Peter Mersi told Mike Hosking it's hard to estimate how much tax is owed across the board. He says they don't really know the size of the gap, but believes it's around $9 billion. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week more on the Budget announcements, including concerns from the former independent advisor to the last Tax Working Group about the efficacy of the Investment Boost initiative, how Inland Revenue will use its additional funding and the Digital Services Tax is dead but what takes its place?

The New Zealand Government has unveiled Budget 2025, which includes an ‘Investment Boost' to accelerate depreciation, significant changes to KiwiSaver, and additional funding for Inland Revenue. Peter Vial FCA, CA ANZ New Zealand Country Head, and John Cuthbertson FCA, CA ANZ New Zealand Tax and Financial Services Leader join Daniel Webster, CA ANZ New Zealand Public Affairs Manager in this special episode of Small Firm, Big Impact to unpack the announcements. As with any budget, there are winners and losers – tune in to hear the team's analysis, straight from the Beehive Lock-up. Resources referred to in the episode: CA ANZ’s 2025 NZ Budget Coverage See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Inland Revenue consults on the taxation of mutual transactions of associations, including clubs and societies. We discuss its latest update about n its crackdown on student loan debt. We look ahead to next week's Budget and the Green Party's alternative. Finally, it's Tax Freedom Day and also a Happy Anniversary to me.

Inland Revenue says attitudes are shifting among student loan holders living overseas. More than $200 million has been collected from overseas borrowers since July last year – a big annual increase. More than 24,000 people are thought to be overseas, collectively owing $1.3 billion on loans going back more than 15 years. IRD's Jane Elley told Kerre Woodham since they received additional funding they've been able to ramp up their workforce, enabling them to be a lot more targeted when chasing debt. Her advice to anyone struggling with their loan is to get in contact with the IRD – ignoring the problem only makes it bigger. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this spirit of taking the good news where we find it, I was absolutely delighted to see the results of Inland Revenue going after student loan defaulters. At the end of April, there were 113,733 people with student loans believed to be based overseas. If you're based overseas, you don't get the student loan automatically taken out of your pay packet. Overseas, it's up to you to make repayments, and more than 70% of those are in default on their loans – so it's up to them to make the repayments. Despite the extraordinarily expensive tertiary education they receive, they don't seem to understand what a loan is. They owe $2.3 billion, of which more than $1 billion is penalties and interest. Even if you wiped the penalties that is still $1 billion, owing to the taxpayer. We paid for the lion's share of the education, around 70% of the true cost of the education, they took out a loan which was paid for by the taxpayer, and $1 billion is owing to us. For about 24,000 of these overseas based borrowers, the debt is more than 15 years old. Inland Revenue has collected more than $207 million in repayments since July last year from student loan borrowers living overseas, and that's 43% up on the same period the previous year. And the reason for the sudden flurry of productivity and getting the money back? Inland Revenue was given the money, student loan compliance funding, to go after the little thieves, so they finally had the resource to be able to do it. According to Inland Revenue, they've contacted more than 12,000 borrowers – 1,320 of them have entered repayment plans, 960 have fully repaid their overdue amounts. Inland Revenue has seen a collective repayment of $9 million once they took an interest. Thank God. The department is also looking at borrowers who own property in New Zealand – there are just over 300 of them. And ever since “hello, it's Inland Revenue on the phone. We understand you owe us money. We also understand you have property in New Zealand”, shockingly, these people are suddenly able to find the money to repay the New Zealand taxpayer. So they've paid up $1.7 million. Any defaulters within the group who have refused to engage and resolve their defaults, says Inland Revenue, will see further legal enforcement taken, which may include New Zealand based bankruptcy or charging orders over their properties. They're doing the same for student loan defaulters who have investments or bank accounts receiving interest income in this country. Just watch these people suddenly come up with the money they owe once they realise Inland Revenue will be able to go sniffing around in their accounts. And as a last resort there'll be arrests at the border. This is so overdue. In the past there seems to have been a reluctance to go after overseas based student loan defaulters. What about when they all flocked back to New Zealand during the Covid times? That was the perfect time to collect the money owed. It is a kindness to the borrowers to keep that student loan debt at the front of their minds. If you can forget about a big debt, if there are other people screaming at you for money who are up in your grills, you'll park it and put it to one side and think I'll do that when I get a bonus at work, or I'll do that one day, and then it gets so big that it becomes terrifying and you just don't think about it. You will remain in blissful and wilful ignorance of the monies owed, and then the penalties and interest that blow out that original loan. Keep it at the forefront of their minds. There are all sorts of arguments that have been put up by student loan thieves over the years. We're the best and the brightest. If you come after us, we won't come home. We'll keep our enormous intellects overseas. Well, you can't be that bloody bright if you don't understand what a loan is, can you? It's not a gift. It was a loan. You have to pay it back. Another argument is, “it's all right for you, your generation got free university education we had to pay for it”. Well, it was really the generation before that received free education. But back then, they really did only take the best and the brightest, numpties need not apply. Total enrolments at all universities in New Zealand was 16,524 in 1960. Today there are 177,000 university students in New Zealand. I'm quite happy to have a discussion about making unit centres of academic excellence and restricting access once again to only the very best and the brightest and pay for that education, absolutely. If we reduce it down from 177,000 to 16,000, we can afford that. Happy to have a chat about means testing but not until you do what most of us manage to do, even the most lowly qualified of us ... pay your bills and pay what you owe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inland Revenue has collected more than $207 million in repayments since July last year from student loan borrowers living overseas in the past 9 months. This is a 43 percent increase on the same period from the previous year. Currently, 71 percent of overseas student loan borrowers are in default - and together, they owe about $2.3 billion in loans, penalties and interest. Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker explains why the IRD is so invested in getting these repayments back. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inland Revenue has collected more than $207 million in repayments since July last year from student loan borrowers living overseas in the past 9 months. This is a 43 percent increase on the same period from the previous year. Currently, 71 percent of overseas student loan borrowers are in default - and together, they owe about $2.3 billion in loans, penalties and interest. Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker explains why the IRD is so invested in getting these repayments back. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time is running out for businesses who took out a Covid Small Business Cashflow Scheme. It's five years today since Inland Revenue introduced the loans. They were issued to more than 129,000 businesses and totalled $2.4 billion. The IRD says they're now reaching their cut-off point, and default loans not paid in full will be enforced. ABC Business Sales managing director unveils how many businesses are still owing - and by how much. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time is running out for businesses who took out a Covid Small Business Cashflow Scheme. It's five years today since Inland Revenue introduced the loans. They were issued to more than 129,000 businesses and totalled $2.4 billion. The IRD says they're now reaching their cut-off point, and default loans not paid in full will be enforced. ABC Business Sales managing director unveils how many businesses are still owing - and by how much. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The IRD has uncovered more than $150 million is undeclared tax and GST from the property sector. Developers and rental property owners haven't been paying the correct GST, income tax and bright-line test taxes. Inland Revenue Senior Manager Tony Morris talks to Heather du Plessis-Allan about the revelation. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What has Mickey Mouse got to do with our tax system, Inland Revenue uncovers more than $150 million in undeclared income tax and GST from the property sector, and I have five suggestions to improve our tax system.

Officials from Inland Revenue and Treasury have told the Government there is no proper evidence that hundreds of millions of dollars of subsidies to some of our biggest carbon polluters are needed. Climate Change Correspondent Eloise Gibson reports.

This week Inland Revenue consults on FBT changes, reports on the results of its recent audit activity, and calls in Baycorp. Meanwhile, is GST a tariff and removing GST from fresh fruit and vegetables a well-meaning but inefficient policy?

An increase in crackdowns has paid dividends for Inland Revenue. It collected $600 million in extra taxes from 3,600 audits between July and December last year – 50% more audits than the same time period in 2023. Half of the money came from fewer than 10 audits. Deloitte Tax Partner Robyn Walker told Mike Hosking it shows the investment at the last budget was worth it, New Zealand getting $11 for every dollar invested. She says because of a previous slowdown in audits there's probably a lot of fruit to pick. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inland Revenue took a softer line with debt of all kinds through the Covid years, but now it's coming down hard on those who owe it money. One tax expert says there's a looming problem with GST in particular, and some companies are in a situation they can't come back from already, even though their other creditors may not know it. Money correspondent Susan Edmunds has more.

Nearly one billion dollars is still owed as the deadline for Covid-era loans approaches. Inland Revenue says many Small Business Cashflow loans will default in June if not paid off. About 130,000 businesses were issued the loans, totalling $2.4 billion. ABC Business Sales Managing Director Chris Small told Mike Hosking he's not surprised so many owners haven't paid it back yet. He says there were no personal guarantees or general security agreements, so it was a free hit for business owners. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inland Revenue consultation is underway on the taxation of charities and not-for-profits, in particular charity run businesses and donor-controlled charities. But experts working in the not for profit and charitable areas are worried the government is looking to the sector to increase tax revenue. 

New reports indicate over 9000 clubs, societies, trade associations and industry councils could be looking at a significant tax bill. Inland Revenue has changed the way it interprets a law - and they're keen to crack down on businesses they believe are 'masquerading' as charities to reduce their taxes. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains what this law change could mean going forward. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A woman was left with a 9000 dollar tax bill after making a mistake on one of the forms she needed to fill out after the birth of her first child. She's one of many people left in debt to Inland Revenue after mispayment of Working For Families tax credits. Money correspondent Susan Edmunds has been looking into this.

Inland Revenue is cracking down on outstanding student loans - and has doubled its team working on overseas collections. It's also putting more money into collecting debt in Australia and the UK. The number of borrowers has risen by more than 5,000 The IRD's project lead Andrew Stott says about 150 people could face an arrest warrant. "It's really about whether they're engaging with us or not. So if they're just ignoring all of our communications or they're leaving us no way to get in touch with them, then that's our last resort." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Inland Revenue department has doubled the size of its team responsible for chasing down overseas-based student loan debt and is taking more legal action in both New Zealand and Australia. Overdue student loan debt has grown to a record $2.37 billion dollars - with $2.2 billion of that owed by overseas borrowers - most of whom are based in Australia. Only 29 percent of all overseas student-loan borrowers met their repayment obligations in the past 12 months. Inland Revenue was allocated 116 million dollars in this year's Budget to bolster compliance and enforcement, with some of that ring-fenced specifically for overdue student loan debt. The rest of the funding is being used across other areas of the tax system including cryptocurrency, trusts, the so-called hidden economy and organised crime. Andrew Stott, Marketing and Communications group manager at the IRD, discusses the department's compliance work with Susie.

Privacy experts are shocked and astounded Inland Revenue had no idea it had breached the privacy of more than a quarter of a million taxpayers. Reporter Phil Pennington spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Inland Revenue has admitted to providing Facebook owner Meta with the names, addresses and other contact details of 268,000 taxpayers in 'raw' unencrypted form. This news comes after an investigation into the IRD's use of social media companies to target taxpayers. Queenstown employment relations consultant and initial complainant David Buckingham was surprised by this development. "I did actually think they had some pretty good processes around at least hashing it - that wasn't really the focus of my initial complaint." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens tax-wise if you're investing in foreign shares? Holding shares listed outside of New Zealand means you might fall under the Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) rules. Haydn Clark from Inland Revenue and Ross Nelson from PwC explain when and how the rules apply, based on investment amounts and types. This conversation explores scenarios where FIF tax takes effect, exemptions that may apply to ASX shares and cryptocurrency, and methods like the Fair Dividend Rate (FDR) and Comparative Value (CV) for calculating FIF income.  Get clear explanations and examples on tax submission and voluntary disclosure, including free online tools to help with calculations, and helpful features in Sharesies. Find out how to work out and report FIF income, when to claim a tax credit, and where to go to file taxes on foreign investments. Sharesies does not provide tax advice. If you have any questions about your FIF or any other tax reporting obligations, you should seek professional tax advice.  For more or to watch on youtube—check out http://linktr.ee/sharedlunch Brought to you by Sharesies Appearance on Shared Lunch is not an endorsement by Sharesies of the views of the presenters, guests, or the entities they represent. Their views are their own. Shared Lunch is not financial advice. We recommend talking to a licensed financial adviser. You should review relevant product disclosure documents before deciding to invest. Investing involves risk. You might lose the money you start with. Content is current at the time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission and Inland Revenue are joining forces to help teach young students about money. Corin Dann spoke to Learning Lead at Te Ara Ahunga Ora Yasmin Frazer.

As part of Inland Revenue's consultation on the future of the tax system, it's asking questions about what we should be taxing - including capital gains. Money correspondent Susan Edmunds spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Questions to Ministers STUART SMITH to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the cost of living? Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Prime Minister: E tautoko ana ia i nga korero me nga mahi katoa a tona Kawanatanga? Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? RIMA NAKHLE to the Minister of Justice: What actions is the Government taking to reduce harm caused by gangs and to make communities safer? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his decision to appoint a Health New Zealand commissioner, and does he stand by his commitment not to cut front-line services at Health New Zealand? JOSEPH MOONEY to the Minister of Police: How many members of the Comancheros motorcycle gang are facing charges following recent Police operations? TEANAU TUIONO to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: E tautoko ana ia i tana ki taurangi ki te whakatika i te Ture Takutai Moana 2011; mena ae, he aha tana whakaritenga ki te whakautu ki te Urgent Inquiry Stage 1 Report Takutai Moana Act 2011 na te Taraipiunara o Waitangi? Does he stand by his commitment to amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act 2011; if so, what is his plan to respond to the Waitangi Tribunal's Takutai Moana Act 2011 Urgent Inquiry Stage 1 Report? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister of Police: What advice, if any, has he received on gang members either getting unlawful access to firearms or using shooting ranges? TIM COSTLEY to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What announcements has he made regarding company director identification? Hon Dr DUNCAN WEBB to the Minister of Justice: Does he stand by all his statements and actions in respect of the Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill and the bills into which it has been divided? JAMIE ARBUCKLE to the Minister for Resources: What announcements has he made regarding critical minerals? Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL to the Minister of Revenue: Does he stand by his statement that Inland Revenue will "deliver on the real priorities for our tax system"; if so, does he support all their work?

The cock up that the Inland Revenue Department has engineered gives us a good insight into how the public service is run.  They hand my information, and yours, over to Google and Facebook etc, and they do this so they can better tailor their advertising.  Even at this point there are a couple of large red flags.  Firstly, I would argue there is a patriotic duty for all Government funded agencies to at least pause and ask themselves, given the relationship with social media and the local media and ripping off of locally created content and making money from it, whether the Government should be throwing more money at them, while at the same time allegedly trying to cut some sort of revenue deal where the international players come to the table and actually pay for the content they are ripping off.  Secondly, and more importantly, the info the IRD have has been gained by compulsion. We have no choice but to hand over our details to them. At what point did they gain the right to on sell them to another party, far less an international one?  An international one that, as the record shows in multiple jurisdictions, has not a lot of interest in behaving in a way that doesn't attract an outsized amount of attention to their ways of doing business.  From America to Europe to Britain - how many times have these players been called before committees and tribunals and inquires to answer questions about their practices, records, business approach, revenue generation and general omnipresence in people's lives?  IRD will tell you our details are safe and the names, ages and serial numbers are confidential. They have been 'hashed', I think the term is. That's where they take letters and turn them into numbers and keys. But have they? Are they really?  Now people, especially those on social media, give a lot of themselves away without often even realising it.  But the IRD are different. We had no choice. We weren't asked. We didn't give permission.  That needs to be addressed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Child support arrears and penalties sit at nearly a billion dollars. That's comparatively good news, according to the tax department.

Alexa welcomes UK tax accountant, Andy Muckett, to the podcast, to demystify the complexities of tax for self-employed vocal coaches and singing teachers in the UK. They discuss why taxes can feel overwhelming for creative professionals, the differences in tax responsibilities between employed and self-employed individuals, and practical tips for managing tax-related challenges. The conversation offers insights on estimating tax liabilities, understanding taxable income, and navigating the transition to self-employment.QUOTE ‘If you were to take 20% of all your top line income before any expenses…and put it away in a savings account, then in theory that would give you more than enough money than you need to pay your tax when it comes around.'Link to presenter bios: Click HereRELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKSHMRC: gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customsCompanies House: gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house(Podcast) Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.159 How Toys and Props Can Create Dynamic Singing Lessons with Kaya Herstad-Carney Vibrant Voice Technique: vibrantvoicetechnique.comInformation Commissioner's Office (ICO): ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-feeDEXT Solo: info.dext.com/welcome-to-dext-soloMyMusicStaff: mymusicstaff.com(Podcast) Singing Teachers Talk: Ep.93 How to Organise Your Singing Studio Business with My Music StaffThe Musicians Union: musiciansunion.org.ukIndependent Society of Musicians: ism.org(Podcast) Singing Teachers Talk: Ep.117 The ISM: What Singers and Singing Teachers Need to Know with Ruth McPhersonABOUT THE GUESTAndy has been involved in the tax world since he left school as a 16 year old. He originally worked for the Inland Revenue (now HMRC) for 5 years before moving into the accounting profession where he specialised in personal taxation and gained accreditation as a Chartered Tax Advisor. He set up AKM in 1992, mainly supporting individuals with their tax compliance needs and always with an eye towards finding opportunities to reduce client tax bills within the confines of the law. Andy loves performing on stage (mostly local panto) when the opportunity arises and when time allows.Website akmaccountingsolutions.co.ukBAST Training is here to help singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher. Website: basttraining.com | Subscribe | Email Us | Join the Free FB Group "I am so glad I took the course! It has given me the confidence to move forward in my teaching knowing that I am practising safely, with a wealth of knowledge and support that I simply didn't have before! The training is comprehensive, immediately applicable, massively informative and so engaging! LOVED it!" Hayley Ross, UK...more testimonials