Source: Radio New Zealand
RNZ
Tax accountants say interactions with Inland Revenue (IR) are improving but inconsistencies, inflexibility and inexperienced staff continue to be a frustration.
Chartered Accountants (CAANZ) and Tax Management’s (TMNZ) 2025 IR satisfaction survey indicates 82 percent of its tax agents who responded to the survey had clients with unpaid tax debt, though about 75 percent believed they would be able to make their tax payments.
Still, members gave IR’s handling of debt recovery a rating of 5.8 out of 10, which matched last year’s result, though there was a high degree of satisfaction when it came to online digital services.
TMNZ’s strategic advisor Chris Cunniffe said most of the issues with IR arose from one-on-one interactions, as the department stepped up efforts to recover $9.3 billion in unpaid tax.
“They are unsurprisingly throwing a lot of resource at it, which then means there’s a lot of interaction with tax agents,” Cunniffe said.
Debt management issues
Many tax agents said they did not understand IR’s current debt strategy, with inconsistent case handling, delayed follow-ups and misplaced enforcement focus.
The survey found there was a strong perception that outcomes often depended on which IR staff member managed the case, creating uncertainty and inefficiency.
Many respondents believed IR was intervening too late to collect debts, with debts already escalated to unmanageable levels.
Respondents were also concerned that small debts were chased aggressively while larger debts attracted less attention.
Recurring concern with audit and review activity
About 40 percent of tax agents said they were concerned about the standard of IR’s reviews or audits of clients, as inexperienced auditors lacked practical commercial understanding or the confidence to manage reviews effectively.
“Members experienced variation in how similar issues were handled across Inland Revenue teams, and many highlighted the impact of inexperienced staff.
“A further concern was Inland Revenue’s declining ability to understand the issue being raised, despite improved responsiveness. These gaps continue to affect predictability and the quality of the overall experience.”
Members were also concerned by IR’s increased attention on GST, PAYE, land transactions, and emerging activity in crypto-related matters.
“While satisfaction with final outcomes was generally moderate, the process often felt uneven,” the survey indicated.
Working to resolve issues
Cunniffe said CAANZ and TMNZ were working with IR to resolve the issues raised by the survey.
“What we’re looking for here is a collaborative approach . . . and look to get alignment on how tax agents and Inland Revenue can work to address this debt mountain that we face,” he said.
“We don’t see any point in just throwing stones at the Inland Revenue and saying, you’re not good enough.”
IR deputy commissioner Lisa Barrett said IR’s approach had been effective, with more than $4b in debt repaid.
“We’re pleased that accountants have noticed our increased efforts in audit and debt collection and are working with us and their clients to resolve any issues,” she said.
“Any time an organisation rapidly increases activity there are areas to improve, and we’re grateful for CAANZ feedback and their positive attitude to working through those with us.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
