I am aware that a large number of New Zealanders fail to claim back over-paid taxes, refunds that they are entitled to. I am interested in what the demographic/regional breakdown of this data is and I suspect there is potentially a large group of New Zealanders affected.
This data is socially and economically relevant and would be incredibly useful in liberating funds for families and individuals that they are entitled to and could boost local/regional economies.
Having access to this data would help in raising awareness around this issue.
Data not available for release
Dear Tim HG
Thank you for your recent information request, which the Department of Internal Affairs passed to Inland Revenue on 23 February 2015. Your request was as follows: "I am aware that a large number of New Zealanders fail to claim back over-paid taxes, refunds that they are entitled to. I am interested in what the demographic/regional breakdown of this data is and I suspect there is potentially a large group of New Zealanders affected." I have assumed that you are enquiring about instances where taxpayers may be eligible for a refund of overpaid income tax but have failed to claim this refund. It may help if I explain that a person’s entitlement to a refund of income tax (or requirement to pay further tax) is not known until an assessment has been made, with the trigger for any assessment typically being submission of a tax return or confirmation of a personal tax summary. In New Zealand, most wage and salary earners are not required to submit tax returns or file personal tax summaries, so no assessment is made. This means that we cannot provide, with certainty, data on the number of people who are entitled to a refund or the amount that could potentially be refunded. In November 2014, we created estimates to assist the Minister of Revenue with answering parliamentary questions lodged by Stuart Nash. Mr Nash asked a number of questions about tax refunds, including “What is the total amount of money the IRD is holding in uncollected tax refunds” and “How much money was identified by the IRD as eligible for a tax refund but wasn’t distributed” for several specified tax years. Answers to parliamentary questions are publicly available at www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/business/qwa. Mr Nash’s question about the total amount of uncollected tax refunds is numbered 08167 (2014). Please note that a number of assumptions were made in order to create these estimates. In particular, the estimates assume that no income other than PAYE income was received by “non-filers”. We have not performed a demographic or regional breakdown of the estimates discussed above. While it would be possible to create such a breakdown, it may be inaccurate. Furthermore, the release of most information Inland Revenue holds is governed by the secrecy requirement in section 81 of the Tax Administration Act 1994. Section 81 provides that all Inland Revenue officers must maintain, and assist in maintaining, the secrecy of all matters relating to the Inland Revenue Acts. There are a number of specific exemptions to this secrecy requirement, allowing us to communicate information to particular parties in particular circumstances. We also have two general exemptions available: Under section 81(1), we can release information for the purpose of carrying the specified legislation into effect, and under section 81(1B) we can release information for the purpose of executing or performing a duty of the Commissioner or supporting the execution or performance of such a duty. When considering whether 81(1B) applies, we are required to have regard to several factors, including the obligation to protect the integrity of the tax system and the resources available to the Commissioner. Should we make any estimates along the lines that you request, it is unlikely that section 81 would allow us to release those estimates. Doing so would not fall within any of the available exceptions to section 81 and does not appear to support the execution of any of the Commissioner’s duties. You can find out more about income tax refunds on our website, www.ird.govt.nz . The pages “What to do at the end of the tax year” and “Tax refunds” may be of particular interest. Thank you for your request. I trust that my comments are of assistance to you.5 Votes
Agency responded
Matthew tilby
Tax refund
Abdullah Kazankiran
Hi, we have unclaimed tax refund from Hospitality. This dates back to more than 5 years, what procedures do I need to claim back my tax refunds. Appreciated for your time