East Coast trucking and delivery company Naati Haulage entered court liquidation with $539,222.70 reportedly owed to the IRD.
Liquidators said failure to account for taxation appeared to be the reason for at least three other business liquidations in reports written last year.
It is a symptom of a larger issue across the country.
New Zealand’s tax debt is $9.4 billion – $100,000 higher than at the same time last year. Small to medium businesses account for 65% of this figure, largely because of cash flow constraints and cost pressures.
John Cuthbertson, the tax team leader for Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), has called the figures a “persistent structural issue that is enabled by the current legislation.”