Owens Tax Advisors is registered as a tax agent with IRD and files income tax and GST returns on behalf of clients. As a large proportion of our clients are referred by other tax agents this is limited to clients for whom we have carried out an advisory assignment and do not already have an existing tax agent.
We recommend that taxpayers change all personal contact details to those of their tax agent or other authorised representatives. This includes postal address, email and telephone numbers.
If IRD manages to contact you directly, you should take full details and lodge a formal complaint to the commissioner, and cc your agent.
Background
In recent months IRD management has elected to contact taxpayers directly to provide information that at best duplicates advice from agents and often gives conflicting and generally incorrect information.
This ignores the very important relationships and corresponding protocols in respect of taxpayers and their agents and other authorised representatives and generates confusion stress and waste of resources.
Repeated pleas from tax agents and professional bodies have fallen on deaf ears.
Accordingly we recommend that clients withhold their personal contact details from IRD.