NZ Taxpayers Warned Over GST Claims

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

15 November 2010

New Zealand’s taxpayers are being advised by the Inland Revenue (IR) to carefully consider the goods and service tax (GST) claims they make relating to property transactions to ensure they are legitimate.

"Most people do the right thing, but we're concerned about cases of contrived or fraudulent transactions," said Martin Scott, the IR’s Group Manager Assurance.

"We're aware some people involved in property deals think of trying to make a claim when they've got no right to and the recent increase in GST may provide some further temptation," he continued. "The simple message to them is to think again because we've got sophisticated tools for tracking transactions and will be on to them."

Scott said the IR now has the capability to monitor all property transfers and capture accurate history and information about GST-related claims. He confirmed that it will take strong action where it finds fraudulent behaviour and people can potentially face criminal charges.

"We've had an ongoing focus on property compliance and will be automatically monitoring properties that have been the subject of GST claims,” he added. “If someone thinks their activity might be overlooked in the huge volume of property transactions they're sorely mistaken."

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