Hon Peter Dunne
Minister of Revenue
Media Statement
IRD seeks feedback on disputes process
Inland Revenue is seeking feedback on proposed administrative and legislative changes to the tax disputes process, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne and Inland Revenue Commissioner Robert Russell jointly announced today.
In launching an issues paper and revised standard practice statements with Mr Russell, the Minister said that every year a number of cases end up in dispute.
"The Government expects the tax system to resolve these disputes swiftly and efficiently. A regular review of the resolution mechanism is therefore necessary," Mr Dunne said.
The paper and revised standard practice statements come in response to a submission from the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) and the New Zealand Law Society. The submission focused on aspects of the formal disputes process such as the quality and timeframe for producing documentation and the right of taxpayers to opt out of the process.
Mr Dunne said the solutions proposed were largely administrative rather than legislative changes.
"Apart from some minor remedial work which was required, the legislation surrounding the disputes process appears to be adequate. The objective therefore is to ensure the process works more efficiently for everyone."
Mr Russell said that Inland Revenue was also seeking feedback on revised standard practice statements related to the disputes process.
"Some of the changes outlined in the revised practices, such as independently facilitated conferences and streamlined documents, are already in place and working well," he said.
"The new practice statements simply endorse these as best practice guidelines. We believe they will greatly facilitate a swifter and more accessible dispute resolution process and will address many of the concerns raised by NZICA and the NZ Law Society," Mr Russell said.
Consultation on the proposed changes to the disputes process and the revised standard practice statements will be open until 20 August 2010. The documents can be found at http://taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/
Mark Stewart | Press Secretary | Office of Hon Peter Dunne
Cell +64 21 243 6985