24 April 2024
On the 24 April 2024 IR issued a public notice advising of their change in policy in regard to overdue debt.
They acknowledged that during the last few years their focus was on supporting businesses through COVID-19 recovery. They now ask for taxpayers with outstanding compliance obligations to engage with them.
They specifically acknowledge that they will over the coming months visit businesses with significant outstanding tax debt, particularly where taxpayers have not engaged with them, despite more than 1 reminder and warning notice.
IR promote that they have a range of options to help customers who are struggling with debt, and that they have the expectation that taxpayers need to talk with them directly so that they can understand your circumstances and work with them.
IR have also positioned that if customers do not engage with them and carry-on ignoring obligations, they may take stronger action. This action will include debt enforcement and or insolvency proceedings.
In the past year, I've encountered a number of non-clients who have reached out to IR and haven't found the discussion proactive or reasonable.
If you have friends or family who are in this position and they don't know how to deal with, I recommend you encourage them to reach out to a Chartered Accountant who can advocate on their behalf, and also pull together an application for Serious Hardship, if required.
Please strongly encourage them to talk with IR or a Chartered Accountant as soon as possible. We are here to help.
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