Statement from Inland Revenue

29 August 2017

The acting Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Cath Atkins, has confirmed that Inland Revenue is looking into an allegation that information pertaining to Winston Peters’ superannuation had been leaked from Inland Revenue.

The allegation was made, and then publicly withdrawn yesterday, by a journalist. Ms Atkins said Inland Revenue takes allegations of this kind very seriously.

“And it’s important to point out that under the tax secrecy provisions (section 81) of the Tax Administration Act, the Minister of Revenue would not be briefed, and had not been briefed, on this matter as it relates to an individual taxpayer,” she said.

"We are looking into the allegation even though it has been withdrawn. To preserve public trust and confidence, we need to be satisfied that there is no evidence of wrongdoing. That work is ongoing.”

Ms Atkins said Inland Revenue had very clear code of conduct requirements that all our staff were aware of, and very strict tax secrecy obligations in respect of individual taxpayer affairs.

"Until we're able to discover more about the allegation, Inland Revenue will not be commenting any further," she said.

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