"OFFICIALLY DEAD"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21248, 30 July 1932, Page 8

"OFFICIALLY DEAD"

A COMEDY OF ERRORS TAXPAYER'S PROBLEM DEPARTMENT NOT CONVINCED EXPLANATIONS IGNORED [by telegraph—OWN correspondent] CHRISTCHURCH, Friday To be "officially dead" is the annoying position in which one well-known Greymouth and Christchurch business man finds himself. Try as he will, he cannot make the Income Tax Department appreciate the fact that ha is still very much alive and is, as he has been for well over 30 years, a regular contributor to income tax revenue. He appears to have been the victim of a most peculiar set of circumstances. .Apart from receiving letters and accounts calling him "deceased" and referring to his own estate as "deceased s estate," he is annoyed to think that further mistakes of other kinds have also been made.

About 12 months ago, in spit© of the fact that tho business man has rather an uncommon name, he received a notice from the Income Tax Department addressed to his estate and announcing officially that he was dead as far as the department was concerned. The principal complaint was that "the deceased s estate" had not furnished a return for the year. "Deceased," being still alive, was indignant and told tho department so in a letter, which also explained that the man referred to had sent in returns long before. That protest did not draw a reply, but threo months later the department sent another letter, again addressed to "the. estate of" and saying that as no return had been made, as requested, it had been assessed at £4OO approximately. Again a reply was sent, explaining that there was no such thing as "estate of Mr. —," as mentioned, but that Mr. was alive and had furnished returns and paid income tax on £BOO approximately. A further period passed and then a receipt for the money paid as tax on about £BOO by the man concerned was received at his address. It was addressed to "Miss With his estate being pressed for a return by the department and with his receipts being returned addressed to an unknown woman namesake, the man was very perturbed. He made one more appeal to tho department to acknowledge he was not dead. To this day the department has not admitted the fact and, to add insult to injury, another letter from the department has been received, claiming tax from "tho estate of the late Mr. —" on 150 acres of land allegedly sold. The letter also asked for the names of the beneficiaries and their shares in the estato. The owner is still alive and has never sold the area of land mentioned.