Overdue request for statistical information

P Kelly made this Official Information request to Inland Revenue Department

The request was partially successful.

From: P Kelly

Dear Inland Revenue Department,

Through MyIR, I made a request for statistical information. The internal messaging system shows this as:

Sent: Friday, Jun 25, 2021 6:20:28 PM
Subject: Request for statistical information

Hi
Could you please provide, for as many years as you have the data:
1. The number of trust tax returns filed each year
2. The number of non-active status trust applications filed each year
3. The number of real estate transactions where a trust is a purchaser, each year?

This is for some academic work I am doing.

Thanks

Peter

On the 20th of July I received a message saying that the request had been "sent on to our annalists".

On 17 August I wrote as follows:

Sent: Tuesday, Aug 10, 2021 9:19:37 PM
Subject: Follow up on message from June

Hi

In June I a following message requesting some statistical information for a masters paper I am writing. I got a reply in July saying it had been sent on to your annalists. Could I get a reply please?

The crucial information I am looking for is from the tax data submitted when houses are bought and sold. You have the IRD number on that form. It would be great to have a breakdown of, for those transactions, what the entity types are that the IRD numbers relate to, ideally broken down by:
- people
- companies
- tax active trusts
- tax inactive trusts

By year for as many years as possible.

Thanks

Peter

As you will see, this request is now well overdue. You will be aware that a requester need not invoke the OIA to receive information according to the OIA. Could this request, as elaborated in my later email, please be dealt with as a matter of priority? A reply on here would be best as that will make the response public.

If the information release is further delayed this will impact on my ability to meet my deadlines for the university paper I am using the information for.

Yours faithfully,

P Kelly

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From: oia
Inland Revenue Department

[IN CONFIDENCE RELEASE EXTERNAL]

Good morning,

Thank you for your request made under the Official Information Act 1982.

We will respond to your request within 20 working days from the date of
receipt.

Kind regards,
Governance & Ministerial Services

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From: oia
Inland Revenue Department

[IN CONFIDENCE RELEASE EXTERNAL]

 

Dear Mr Kelly

Thank you for your email of 20 August 2021 (our ref: 22OIA 1181).

 

I understand your email to be enquiring about your Official Information
Act request, which Inland Revenue responded to on 23 August 2021. The
response was sent to your myIR account.

 

I trust that the response answers your OIA request.

 

Thank you.

 

Kind regards

 

OIA team

Governance & Ministerial Services | Inland Revenue

 

 

 

This email and any attachment may contain confidential information. If you
have received this email or any attachment in error, please delete the
email / attachment, and notify the sender. Please do not copy, disclose or
use the email, any attachment, or any information contained in them.
Consider the environment before deciding to print: avoid printing if you
can, or consider printing double-sided. Visit us online at ird.govt.nz

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P Kelly left an annotation ()

(Sent directly by IRD)

Thank you for your web message and apologise for the delay in response.
I have included the details provided in my original response to your request on the 12 August 2021 via NZ Post and will sent out another copy of the details provided once the Levels have dropped and able to access the IRD offices.
"Thank you for your request for information via our webmail service on 25 June 2020. I apologise for the delay in replying to you.  
You have requested the following information:  
Could you please provide for as many years as you have the data:  
1. The number of trust tax returns files each year 
2. The number of non-active status trust applications filed each year  
3. The number of real estate transactions where a trust is a purchaser each year.  
The number of trust returns filed, and the income of those trusts, is publicly available on our website  We currently have statistical information from 2001 to 2019 and there is a link to the data on our website at   Income of trusts (IR6) returns 2001 to 2019 (ird.govt.nz) 
The number of trusts that had no income or had a loss and filed income tax returns between 2001 and 2019 are also included in the statistical information on the link above.   
 
A trust may want to declare a complying trust as non-active so that it is not required to file an income tax return for it.  If a trust wishes to declare the trust as non-active they are required to complete an IR633 Non Active Trust Declaration. There are approximately 6,500 complying trusts that have not wound-up and have a non-active filing exemption at 30 June 2021.   
 
Real estate transactions 
 
Set out below is the data Inland Revenue currently holds on real estate transactions where the trust is a purchaser  
 

Tax Year 
Number of Properties Purchased 
2022 
7,138 
2021 
22,410 
2020 
20,767 
2019 
21,253 
2018 
22,165 
2017 
26,058 
2016 
10,232 
  
  
Total 
130,023 
  
Caveat:  current limitations with property data may have an impact on the accuracy of the figures above.  
  
Inland Revenue only has a record of a Trust purchasing a property if the buyer has provided an IRD number and the IRD number belongs to a Trust, or when the buyer has not provided an IRD number but the name includes ‘Trustee’. 
 
Thank you for writing.  I trust my response is of assistance to you."

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