Inland Revenue Department (New Zealand)

Agency overview
Formed 1878 (1878)
Preceding agency
  • Land and Income Tax Department
Jurisdiction New Zealand
Headquarters 55 Featherston Street
Pipitea
Wellington 6012
Employees 5,789[1]
Annual budget Total budget for 2016/17
Vote Revenue
$6,751 million[2]
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Naomi Ferguson, Chief Executive / Commissioner
Website www.ird.govt.nz

Inland Revenue (IRD; former known name: Inland Revenue Department) (Māori: Te Tari Taake) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on tax policy, collecting and disbursing payments for social support programmes, and collecting tax.

The Department's Māori name, Te Tari Taake, is an older spelling of Te Tari Tāke, meaning The Department [of] Tax. Despite long vowels in Māori now being expressed with macrons over the vowel rather than double vowels, the Department continues to use the double vowel due to the resemblance of the word tāke to the English word take.[3]

History

Inland Revenue started out as the Land Tax Department in 1878. The Department was renamed the Land and Income Tax Department in 1892 with the central office set up in Wellington.

Only in 1952, when the organisation joined with the Stamp Duties Department, was the organisation known as the Inland Revenue Department.

In 1995, a Rewrite Advisory Panel was established to consider and advise on issues arising during the rewriting of the income tax legislation, as part of New Zealand tax reform arising from the Working Party on the Reorganisation of the Income Tax Act 1976. The panel was disestablished in 2014 at the completion of the tax reform.[4]

Service delivery

In 2015–16, Inland Revenue collected $63.4 billion in tax revenue,[1] which was more than 80% of the money the government used to pay for services that all New Zealanders benefited from, including social security and welfare, health and education. Other services included law and order, housing and community development, environmental protection, defence, transport, and heritage, culture and recreation.[1]

The Department also administers the following social support programmes:

Acts and regulations administered

Legislation administered by the Inland Revenue Department includes:[5]

Criticisms

Inland Revenue has been criticised for what are seen as heavy handed tactics when forcing payment from debtors, specifically those owing tax arrears and child support payments, and for charging excessive penalties on debts which result in debtors falling into a cycle whereby they are unable to pay the growing amounts they owe. The approach of Inland Revenue has been implicated in a number of suicides and other acts of self-harm.[6][7][8]

List of Ministers

The Minister of Inland Revenue is the political office of Minister for the department of Inland Revenue. Since December 2016, the position has been held by Judith Collins.

Colour key
(for political parties)

  Independent  

  Liberal  

  Reform  

  United  

  Labour  

  National  

  United NZ  

  United Future  

No. Name Portrait Term of Office Prime Minister
As Minister in Charge of Land and Income Tax Department
1 Arthur Myers 28 March 1912 10 July 1912 Mackenzie
2 James Allen 10 July 1912 12 August 1915 Massey
3 Joseph Ward 12 August 1915 21 August 1919
(2) James Allen 4 September 1919 28 April 1920
4 William Massey† 12 May 1920 10 May 1925
5 William Nosworthy 14 May 1925 24 May 1926 Bell
Coates
6 William Downie Stewart, Jr. 24 May 1926 10 December 1928
(3) Joseph Ward 10 December 1928 28 May 1930 Ward
7 George Forbes 28 May 1930 22 September 1931 Forbes
(6) William Downie Stewart, Jr. 22 September 1931 28 January 1933
8 Gordon Coates 28 January 1933 6 December 1935
9 Walter Nash 6 December 1935 13 December 1949 Savage
Fraser
10 Charles Bowden 13 December 1949 1 November 1952 Holland
As Minister in Charge of the Inland Revenue Department
(10) Charles Bowden 1 November 1952 26 November 1954 Holland
11 Jack Watts 26 November 1954 12 December 1957
Holyoake
12 Arnold Nordmeyer 12 December 1957 12 December 1960 Nash
13 Harry Lake† 12 December 1960 20 December 1963 Holyoake
14 Peter Wilkinson 12 December 1975 8 March 1977 Muldoon
15 Hugh Templeton 8 March 1977 11 December 1981
16 John Falloon 11 December 1981 26 July 1984
17 Roger Douglas 26 July 1984 24 August 1987 Lange
As Minister of Revenue
18 Trevor de Cleene 24 August 1987 15 December 1988 Lange
19 David Caygill 15 December 1988 9 February 1990
Palmer
20 Peter Neilson 9 February 1990 2 November 1990
Moore
21 Wyatt Creech 2 November 1990 1 March 1996 Bolger
22 Peter Dunne 1 March 1996 16 December 1996
23 Bill Birch 1 March 1996 31 August 1998
Shipley
24 Max Bradford 31 August 1998 1 February 1999
25 Bill English 1 February 1999 22 June 1999
(23) Bill Birch 22 June 1999 10 December 1999
26 Michael Cullen 5 December 1999 17 October 2005 Clark
(22) Peter Dunne 17 October 2005 7 June 2013
Key
27 Todd McClay 7 June 2013 14 December 2015
28 Michael Woodhouse 14 December 2015 20 December 2016
English
29 Judith Collins 20 December 2016 Incumbent

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Inland Revenue Department. 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "Total Appropriations for Each Vote". 2016 Budget. New Zealand Treasury. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Goldsmith, Paul (13 July 2012). "Taxes - Tax, ideology and international comparisons". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  4. ↑ "Plain English tax panel disestablished" (Press release). 2 December 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "Nature and scope of IR functions from Statement of Intent 2011-14". Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  6. ↑ http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/10590774/Self-harm-threats-soar-for-those-who-owe-IRD
  7. ↑ http://www.gra.co.nz/articles-by-john-rowe/whats-the-single-largest-cause-of-bankruptcy-in-new-zealand
  8. ↑ http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/79221368/suicide-concerns-rise-for-farmers-as-dairy-downturn-takes-its-toll
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