Bad news from Inland Revenue

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33062, 1 November 1972, Page 1

Bad news from Inland Revenue

Several thousand salary and wage earners in Christchurch will shortly receive letters telling them they owe the Inland Revenue Department money. If the letters come as a surprise, the District Commissioner of Taxes (Mr C. K. Jones) is confident that in many cases the final result will be a refund. The letters will be in the form of default assessments based on figures shown on duplicates of tax deduction certificates furnished by employers.

The assessments will be sent only to those people who have so far failed to file income tax returns for the year ended March, 1972.

Recently the department sent out 7000 requests to people who had not filed returns.

The department has since been examining tax deduction certificates to see if such taxpayers have, on the face of things, paid all they should have. Mr Jones said many taxpayers had not filed returns knowing full well they owed money. Others who had not bothered were probably entitled to refunds in view of their permissible deductions. The department has now completed the major part of its assessment work for 1972 and is currently ahead by about 6000 returns on the corresponding period last year.

Summonses issued for failure to furnish reconciliation statements had had the desired effect Of the many summonses issued, only 15 or so involved further action, said Mr Jones.