Dunne: Tax stats online give Kiwis more and clearer info

Revenue Minister Peter Dunne has welcomed a move by Inland Revenue to make a wide range of statistical information about tax revenue and social entitlements available on its website.

"We want to ensure there's as much transparency and ease of access to this information that we can," said Mr Dunne.

Some of the figures now readily available include data about donation rebates, child support, Working for Families Tax Credits entitlements, GST turnover and filing, and income distribution by income bands.

Revenue statistics cover the years from July 2001 to June 2008, and customer statistics are available from April 2001 to March 2008. The figures will be updated every year.

"We know a lot of taxpayers, sector groups and others have a genuine interest in these figures," Mr Dunne said.

"Making this information available also allows other government departments to obtain statistical data vital to them, without having to separately survey their customers."

Mr Dunne said it was important to balance providing more information with the interest of taxpayers.

"While Inland Revenue is publishing more information, it can still only drill down to a certain level because of the requirement to keep information about individual taxpayers confidential."

The tax statistics are available at http://www.ird.govt.nz/IRD/aboutir/external-stats/