A survey of
Auckland tradespeople shows an Inland Revenue campaign highlighting cash jobs
has hit home, with four in five believing they’ll get caught if they cheat on
their taxes.
The survey of
nearly 420 tradies followed an advertising campaign in Auckland during April
and May, with the message that tradespeople need to declare all their income,
including cash, “or risk everything”.
Inland Revenue’s Group Manager Investigations
and Advice, Patrick Goggin, said the survey results show that the message that
doing under-the-table jobs is a tax crime is getting through.
“There was a high level of awareness of the
campaign, with nearly two-thirds of tradies recalling it and more than half
considering it was relevant to all tradespeople. That’s a great result for what
was only a trial campaign,” Mr Goggin said.
The survey
showed more tradies agreed that if they cheat on their tax, it is likely
they’ll get caught, when compared to a similar survey in 2012, he said.
“This year
half of tradies agreed with that statement, compared to just over a third back
in 2012. That shows tradespeople do realise Inland Revenue will take action if it
finds out they’re not declaring all their income.”
Mr Goggin
said while the majority of tradespeople “do the right thing” by paying their
taxes, there’s a minority who are cheating the system and ripping off
taxpayers.
“Unfortunately
our survey found that in the Auckland region, there’s anecdotal evidence that
up to a quarter of building and construction involves under the table work. If
that’s true, that’s a lot of tax not being paid and that would have funded
vital services we all benefit from such as schools, hospitals and social
services.
“I think
what’s encouraging though is that tradies are talking about their tax
obligations with their mates in the industry and with their customers. And most
are saying it’s no longer okay to do work for cash and not declaring it.
“Some of the
comments they told us were: ‘About time IRD cracked down on it’, and ‘Just be
honest mate, and pay your tax’. And more than three-quarters of respondents
disagreed with the statement ‘I don’t think of tax cheating as a real crime’.”
Mr Goggin said
although Inland Revenue had identified the building and construction industry
as being a high risk for tax evasion, all levels of tax evasion from any
industry were treated very seriously.
Media contact:
Pete van Schaardenburg
04 890 1698, 021 348 696
No comments:
Post a Comment