Inland Revenue cracks down on overdue tax bills: IRD makes phone calls to claim GST, employer tax

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has begun calling people with more than $1000 worth of tax debt. Photo / Janna Dixon

Inland Revenue is chasing overdue tax bills and has started phoning people to tell them “ignoring debt will only make things worse”.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) began calling people with more than $1000 worth of tax debt, between six months and five years old, last Thursday.

A statement from IRD said its phone calls would “let those customers know the amount of overdue debt they have and point out that penalties and interest on that debt are starting to mount up”.

“We want to encourage customers to either pay their debt in full or set up an instalment agreement.”

The IRD said it was focusing on overdue goods and services tax (GST) and employer tax.

“Where GST and/or employer debt (EMP) exceeds $10,000 we will remind them of their tax obligations and the possible legal consequences of ignoring them.

“Most of our customers stay on top of their tax, but for those who don’t, Inland Revenue wants to be clear - ignoring debt will only make things worse.”

But what will the IRD do if someone refuses to engage?

The department said it would leave a message asking for a call back.

“If there’s still no response, we’ll make one more attempt to contact them, but won’t leave another message.

“If there’s still no word from a customer, we may visit them in person.”

The IRD said its final options were to take money owed directly from bank accounts or start insolvency proceedings.

In just the three and a half months since mid-June, the IRD has sent 16,500 notices about planned bank account deductions. That is 25% more than the total notices sent out last year.

Since mid-June, the IRD has made 8181 deductions, recovering $17 million worth of tax debt.

“Customers start to sort the debt by talking with us when we call,” the department said.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.

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