IRD staff continue prying into taxpayers' files

Inland Revenue staff are continuing to pry into people's private tax files despite a rash of sackings in recent years, new figures show.

Inland Revenue Minister Peter Dunne revealed eight staff were sacked in the first nine months of last year and a further four were warned for accessing taxpayers' confidential files.

The information on the sackings - provided in answer to parliamentary questions - follows the sacking of about 80 staff since 2003 for the same offence.

Most of the sackings resulted from investigations begun in 2003 as a result of an uproar over so-called "celebrity surfing" by department staff keen to pry into the details of prominent New Zealanders such as Paul Holmes and Jonah Lomu.

However, many staff were fired for accessing their own or family members' files.

Releasing last year's figures, Mr Dunne said no distinction was made between celebrities and others in the department's record keeping.

- NZPA