NZ Seeks Feedback On Company Tax Return Forms

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

04 August 2008

New Zealand's Inland Revenue announced this week that it is reviewing the information currently requested from taxpayers and how it is collected, ahead of a planned redesign with a view to collecting more information in an electronic format.

The Inland Revenue's proposed changes would reduce the reporting requirements for the majority of companies, it revealed.

In particular, smaller businesses will be required to provide significantly less information.

Given that large companies contribute a substantial proportion of the tax revenue, the Inland Revenue considers that more comprehensive information is required from them relative to small and medium businesses.

Among the proposals currently being consulted on are to:

• Rationalise the income tax forms taxpayers are required to complete, including the Company income tax return (IR4), Annual imputation return (IR4J), Accounts information (IR10) and other related forms and disclosures;
• Tailor information requirements to different sized companies to reduce overall compliance costs for most companies;
• Rely more on financial information compiled by companies for financial reporting purposes; and
• Enhance electronic filing systems to reduce common errors and move to mandatory electronic filing by 2010/2011 tax year.

The Revenue is welcoming and encouraging individuals to share their views and work through any practical implementation issues, the tax authority concluded by announcing.

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