'Anomaly’ on levies

Press, 10 December 1983, Page 35

'Anomaly’ on levies

PA Wellington The Employers’ Federation has asked the Government for a change to accident compensation legislation.

A federation spokesman said that this resulted from an anomaly on whether employers should pay their levies in advance for the current year, or in arrears for the previous year.

He said the federation believed levies should be paid in advance for ’ the current year, but the Accident Comensation Corporation thought the opposite.

He said the anomaly came to light in the wake of recent business closures. “Firms found themselves liable to additional levies when all along they thought they had been paying in advance and, if anything, should be due a refund.” He said that about 40 firms had confirmed to the federation that they thought levies should be paid in advance.

“Legislative changes will be needed to clarify the situation and the federation has approached the Minister of Labour seeking the ap-

propriate change.” To comply with the legislation as it now stood, several auditors had required companies to write off the levies previously thought to have been paid “in advance.”

“In effect, this creates a double levy for the 1981-82 fiscal year.

“In some cases the writeoffs are substantial and will have seriously depressing effects on company profits (on a once-for-ever basis), but will correspondingly reduce company tax liabilities,” said the spokesman.