Dunne: two Canterbury quake tax provisions extended

The Government has recognised the need for ongoing support of earthquake-ravaged Cantabrians and extended two temporary measures introduced after the September 2010 earthquake for a further year, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne announced today.

Interest on late payments
Inland Revenue has the discretion to remit interest on late payments where people were unable to meet their obligations because of the earthquake extended.

The Tax Administration (Emergency Event – Canterbury Earthquake) Amendment Order (No 2) 2011 extends Inland Revenue’s ability to do this until 30 September 2012.

Information sharing
To ensure the continuous delivery of social assistance, business subsidies, grant applications and other government services to those in Canterbury, Inland Revenue was given the ability to share certain information with other government agencies.

Typically, the information might include a person’s contact details and their family, financial, and employment status, but it is only shared if doing so supports the restoration of the social, economic, cultural, and environmental well-being of the greater Canterbury communities, Mr Dunne said.

The recipient agency is expected to maintain confidentiality. The Canterbury Earthquake (Tax Administration Act) Order (No 2) 2011 will extend this until 31 October 2012.

Mr Dunne said the extensions made sense and were a good example of government agencies working to help smooth processes to provide support for Canterbury:

“These are sound, practical responses which are proving to be valuable to the people of Canterbury and it made sense to extend them.

“The situation in Canterbury continues to be difficult and demands a flexible and responsive Government approach, and that is exactly what we are delivering.”