The overarching purpose of this appropriation is to deliver a customer-centric, integrated tax and entitlement service experience for New Zealanders that is agile and intelligence-led.
We achieved 21 of 28 output performance measures.
Services for Customers is a multi-category appropriation with 5 categories:
- Services to Ministers and to Inform the Public About Entitlements and Meeting Obligations
- Services to Process Obligations and Entitlements
- Management of Debt and Unfiled Returns
- Investigations
- Policy Advice
What we intend to achieve
This appropriation is intended to ensure customers find it easy to meet their tax and social policy obligations and receive the payments they’re entitled to.
We start this section with our overall results for this appropriation and present the results for each of the 5 categories on the following pages:
Services to Ministers and to inform the public about entitlements and meeting obligations
Services to process obligations and entitlements
Management of debt and unfiled returns
How we performed
We carefully balanced resources across our work programme, with an increased focus on compliance activities. We prioritised activities based on factors such as addressing areas of risk and key customer issues.
Most customers want to do the right thing. This is reflected in the high proportion of customers who file returns on time, with levels increasing to 96.4% in 2023–24, and pay on time. The economic climate has meant a small decline in customers’ ability to pay in full and on time. The value of payments made on time has remained high at 94.0%.
| Year | Returns filed by customers on time | Tax payments made by customers on time | Tax payments made on time by value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 93.2% | 85.9% | 94.0% |
| 2021 | 94.3% | 89.9% | 94.3% |
| 2022 | 95.7% | 89.4% | 94.4% |
| 2023 | 96.2% | 88.8% | 94.5% |
| 2024 | 96.4% | 88.2% | 93.1% |
Performance measure results
This year, we achieved 1 out of 2 of the overarching performance measures in the Services for Customers multi-category appropriation.
| Performance measures | 2022-2023 Actual | 2023-2024 Target | 2023-2024 Actual | 2024-2025 Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of returns filed by customers on time | 96.2% | 95% | 96.4% (achieved) | 95% |
| Percentage of tax payments made by customers on time | 88.8% | 90% | 88.2% (not achieved) | 90% |
| Not achieved—The target for this measure was increased from 85% to 90% from July 2022 in response to an uplift in performance resulting from IR’s move to the new START system. Although we have achieved over 90% for some months during the year, our highest year-end result was 89.9% in 2020–21. Since then, economic conditions have impacted businesses and households’ cashflow and ability to pay in full and on time. On-time payment compliance declined across most tax types: GST dropped from 87.1% to 85.5%, employer activities from 92.2% to 91.8% and non-individual income tax from 86.3% to 85.8%. |
||||
All targets are unaudited.
What it cost
| Revenue | Actual 2023 $0002 | Actual 2024 $000 | Unaudited revised budget 2024 $000 | Unaudited budget 2024 $000 | Unaudited forecast 2025 $000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from the Crown | $693,930 | $726,345 | $726,345 | $715,117 | $748,425 |
| Other revenue | $5,381 | $4,718 | $6,101 | $6,101 | $6,101 |
| Total revenue | $699,311 | $731,063 | $732,446 | $721,218 | $754,526 |
| Total expenses | $660,493 | $706,538 | $732,446 | $721,218 |
$754,526 |
| Net surplus/(deficit) | $38,818 | $24,525 | - | - | - |
We came within budget for the Services for Customers multi-category appropriation.