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Thank you for inviting me to open your conference once again.

Following last year’s General Election I am pleased to have retained the Revenue portfolio. Actually rightly or wrongly, I asked to be able to retain it - and I look forward to working with you once again as Minister of Revenue.

The relationship that exists between IRD and the tax advisory profession is mature and one we need to continue to cultivate.

Thank you for inviting me here today. It is always a pleasure to address tax professionals.

I’m especially pleased to be here given the theme of your conference, The Future ­ Moving Forward.

That’s a very topical issue and something that I am deeply interested in.

Taxation is a necessary part of society as long as government is required to provide services such as health and education, police and defence, conservation and civil defence.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Todd McClay have welcomed the announcement of an arrangement that will see Australia and New Zealand share data to assist New Zealand to recoup unpaid student loans of defaulters in Australia.

Prime Minister John Key and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the information-sharing arrangement at their annual Leaders’ Meeting today.

Bodies corporate will no longer be required to register for GST following the introduction today of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015–16, Research and Development, and Remedial Matters) Bill, Revenue Minister Todd McClay says.

Included in the omnibus tax bill are a number of proposed measures to clarify the GST position of bodies corporate, following on from consultation on the issue last year.

Minister of Revenue Todd McClay has said that a consultation paper seeking public feedback on tax rules for related parties’ debt remission will lead to greater certainty and fairness for tax payers.

“This will be welcomed by group companies in corporate New Zealand as well as smaller mum and dad partnerships or businesses.  It’s my expectation that this consultation will lead to legislative change which is now overdue,” says Mr McClay.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay today welcomed Inland Revenue’s decision to exercise its income equalisation discretion to help provide relief for drought-affected farmers in the eastern South Island.  Mr McClay’s comment follows the declaration of a medium-scale adverse event by Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy this afternoon.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay says Inland Revenue’s focus on collecting tax debt has paid big dividends, with $752 million more being collected in 2013/14 than in the previous year.

“This Government has invested heavily in providing Inland Revenue with the resources to bolster its tax compliance activities.

“In Budget 2014 we invested an additional $132 million – which was on top of the nearly $200 million already allocated through Budgets 2010 and 2012 for tax compliance and debt collection work.

From next year a significant new measure for countering tax evasion will become available to Inland Revenue, says Revenue Minister Todd McClay.

The Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, signed in 2012, provides for administrative co-operation between tax authorities in the assessment and collection of taxes.

Associate Trade Minister Todd McClay will address the New Zealand Honorary Consul Conference of the Western USA and Hawaii in Los Angeles on Monday.

The opening address is one of a number of visits and meetings in his Revenue, Associate Trade and Associate Foreign Affairs portfolios.

Mr McClay will also visit the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Global Access Programme.

Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Revenue Minister Todd McClay today welcomed the next important step in the Government’s HomeStart package for first home buyers with the first reading of the Taxation (KiwiSaver HomeStart and Remedial Matters) Bill.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay says Inland Revenue winning best Government website for the 8^th time in the NetGuide Awards this week is a demonstration of the Government’s commitment to make tax simple.

“The Inland Revenue website has more than 20 million visits a year and this award was determined by web users. That tells you that Inland Revenue’s relentless focus on making tax simpler is heading in the right direction,” says Mr McClay.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay says Inland Revenue has doubled the number of people caught committing tax fraud in 2014, compared to the previous year.

“We have long signalled that we will not tolerate people trying to rip off the system. We have invested heavily in finding evasion and it is paying off,” says Mr McClay.

Inland Revenue identified fraud-related discrepancies totalling $10.4 million, compared to $4.5 million in 2013. This was a return on investment of $3.73:$1.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay has today announced that the Rewrite Advisory Panel of public and private sector tax experts has been disestablished.

The Rewrite Advisory Panel comprised representatives from the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, the New Zealand Law Society and Inland Revenue – along with an independent Chair.

The Government initiative aimed at encouraging overseas student loan debtors to start repaying their loans has now netted $150 million in additional payments, and the pace of collection is picking up.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Todd McClay say the initiative took three years to collect its first $100 million, and just six months to collect the next fifty million. It now has a year-to-date return of $16 for every $1 invested in it.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay says Inland Revenue’s proactive strategy to track down those attempting to avoid paying tax is showing big dividends.

“There are many ways people and companies attempt to avoid paying tax and we are continually increasing our resources to track them down,” says Mr McClay.

“Property speculation is a good example.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay today released two reports from officials relating to tax avoidance by large multinational companies.

The reports provide an update on policy work being undertaken in line with the OECD Action Plan and also outline the expected timeline for related policy work.

“Tax policy changes in New Zealand are generally only undertaken following public consultation, so the report describes some key public consultation scheduled for 2015 which will address the issue of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

Revenue Minister Todd McClay says working families who are eligible for the minimum family tax credit will receive a small increase from 1 April next year.

The tax credit currently guarantees recipients an after-tax income of $22,776 per year. This will increase to $23,036 per year from 1 April 2015.

“The minimum family tax credit provides a guaranteed minimum family income to families who are in work, and helps support them in moving off a benefit and into paid employment,” says Mr McClay.

Good morning. 

I’m pleased to be here today as this is my first speech since the election and I have, to my great satisfaction, retained the Revenue portfolio and therefore the privilege as the Minister of Revenue of opening this conference. 

I’m happy to say that New Zealand is in an enviable position with a good tax and social policy system.  We are served well by our broad-base, low-rate (BBLR) tax settings.

This is consistent with the advice I have received from Inland Revenue in its recent Briefing to the Incoming Minister.

Revenue Minister Todd McClay today announced New Zealand’s timetable for participation in a global automatic exchange of information aimed at cracking down on tax evasion.

G20 leaders announced the initiative in September 2013 -  and in May 2014, New Zealand, along with all OECD countries, joined in the general declaration of support for the move. Australia, holding the G20 Presidency this year, announced their implementation timetable last month.