WELLINGTON, June 18 (Xinhua) -- People buying and selling properties will need to supply their tax number on land transfer documentation, announced the New Zealand government on Tuesday as a further move to contain property speculation.
Government commissioned tax working groups made the recommendation in order to improve the fairness, balance and structure of the tax system, said Revenue Minister Stuart Nash.
"Inland Revenue needs a complete picture of property transactions to determine if tax rules are being manipulated. The requirement for nearly all land transfers to include an IRD number is a small change but improves the overall integrity of the system", said Nash.
It is understood that most people already provide their IRD number to Land Information New Zealand when buying and selling property in New Zealand, but there are some exemptions which are open to manipulation. About one-third of land transfers are made without a record of the IRD number of the buyer or seller.
"Capturing the relevant tax information for property sales will also help us work with jurisdictions in other countries to combat global tax evasion," said Nash.
A Supplementary Order Paper was tabled on Tuesday to make the change to the Taxation Bill currently before New Zealand Parliament. It will apply from 1 January 2020.
