Tax refund time a cash injection into economy

Media Release

13 June 2014

Tax refund time a cash injection into New Zealand’s economy

The New Zealand’s regional centres could be in for a cash injection this month as the Inland Revenue (IRD) begins to release some of their 2014 financial year tax refunds.

Estimates by NZ Tax Refunds (shown below) indicate that if the entire population of these nine regions claimed the overpaid tax that may be owing to them over millions of dollars would be injected into the local economy.

Region (a) Population (x) Employment rate% (e) (y) $
Auckland Region 1,415,550 91.9 483,931,247
Wellington Region 471,315 92.8 162,705,479
Christchurch City 341,469 94.9 120,548,118
Dunedin City 118,683 92.5 40,838,820
Hamilton City 141,612 90.5 47,675,096
New Plymouth District 74,184 94.4 26,049,993
Palmerston North City 80,079 92.4 27,525,394
Nelson Region 46,437 94.1 16,255,364
Tauranga City 114,789 92.4 39,456,193
(based on 2013 census figures)

y *Un audited calculation made by multiplying the population x the regional employment rate e (based on the 2013 census figures) x 0.93 (the % of NZ Tax Refund’s customers who have overpaid their tax in the last 5 years x $400 the average kiwi’s have overpaid their tax ($400) = $y

This week IRD have released the 2014 tax refunds and WooHoo NZ Tax Refunds began paying out the majority of their customer’s tax refunds.

NZ Tax Refunds CEO Cilla Hegarty says that “it’s a shame that there are so many people in the New Zealand who don’t take advantage of these refunds. As 93% of our customers have overpaid their taxes in the last 5 years there is a good chance that kiwi’s are owed some o f their money back. If everyone got what was owing to them their region’s economy would receive a major boost”

“We’ve already paid millions of dollars in tax refunds to workers across the country. It’s our favourite time of year and I suspect the retailers might be opening their cash registers a bit more this month” said Mrs Hegarty.

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