Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The government has announced it plans to urgently repeal legislation which would have required Inland Revenue to report on the tax system's equity, efficiency and certainty.
The first annual report under the Taxation Principles Reporting Act is due by the end of the year, but the government's move to repeal it will cancel that.
Revenue Minister Simon Watts on Tuesday morning announced the government's intention to scrap the Act, saying urgency was needed of that short deadline.
"Requiring Inland Revenue to produce additional annual reports would take extra resources at a time when our focus should be on higher priority measures to address the cost of living and get the government's books back in order," he said.
"Repeal of the Act ensures IRD's resources are focused on collecting tax and contributing to the delivery of the government's income tax reduction plans."
The Act was passed by the previous Labour government in August this year, giving the Inland Revenue Commissioner the duty to each year report on the tax system over the previous three years.
The report would cover the tax system's adherence to four principles set down in the Act:
National and ACT opposed the bill at select committee, with National saying it was unnecessary, unhelpfully politicised, and pointed to a warning from Treasury it could present a risk to the "integrity, independence and endurance of the reporting framework".
ACT said it would not enhance the existing tax principles practised by the industry.
The repeal will be done under urgency this week, when Parliament is also expected to repeal Labour's RMA replacements - returning to the old Resource Management Act - and bring back 90-day trials for all businesses.