It said not paying tax “creates an unfair advantage over businesses that are doing the right thing and affects the revenue needed to fund public services”.
Lighthouse Financial managing director Matthew Harris said the company had seen a huge increase in enforcement, ranging from “simple phone calls to taking money out of the business bank account and on the very extreme side, tipping businesses into liquidation”.
IR said businesses needed to talk to the department early if they weren’t able to pay, ideally before the due date.
“The key thing is to engage, keep filing, and make sure ongoing obligations are met.
“PAYE is especially important. Employers are deducting money from employees’ wages and must pass that on to Inland…