Inland Revenue to act on PIRs

Updated estimates show around 550,000 people have underpaid tax on their investments (including KiwiSaver) with an average of $80 to $90 owing per person for the 2019 tax year, says Inland Revenue deputy commissioner, Sharon Thompson.

“This suggests to us that people need support to make sure they choose the right PIR,” she said. “With our new system in place, we’re working on a range of initiatives to help them.

“From mid-July 2019, we’ll begin proactively contacting customers who are on an incorrect PIR to let them know they need to change it to avoid paying too little or too much tax in the future. They can then contact their investment provider to change their rate.

“And in the future, we’ll contact customers during the year if we identify they are using an incorrect PIR. This will be an on-going process to ensure that customers can get things right from the start.