Today's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

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Smpl Mnmlst
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#3466573 3-Mar-2026 20:44

mudguard:

eracode:

How the hell can a NZ supplier of kiwifruit workers go bust owing IRD $57 million - without it ringing alarm bells way before it got to that level? NZH story today.

Not pay lots of workers' PAYE?

Yeah I guess so but the question stands.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

eracode

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#3466576 3-Mar-2026 20:54

mudguard:

eracode:

How the hell can a NZ supplier of kiwifruit workers go bust owing IRD $57 million - without it ringing alarm bells way before it got to that level? NZH story today.

Not pay lots of workers' PAYE?

I can now see how it might get there.

Ballpark figures: Assume he has 2,000 workers on his books and they each earn $30k in a season. That’s $60m pa and PAYE on that at say 25% is $15m pa. Four years unpaid PAYE gets you to $60m - close enough to the alleged $57m.

Seems you can only get there if it goes undetected for a long time. Why wasn’t it detected - that’s really my question.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

noddy76

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#3466578 3-Mar-2026 21:26

eracode:

I can now see how it might get there.

Ballpark figures: Assume he has 2,000 workers on his books and they each earn $30k in a season. That’s $60m pa and PAYE on that at say 25% is $15m pa. Four years unpaid PAYE gets you to $60m - close enough to the alleged $57m.

Seems you can only get there if it goes undetected for a long time. Why wasn’t it detected - that’s really my question.

Don't forget the 15%gst that wouldn't have been paid either. Each worker charged out at say $35k+gst per season. Thats $10m in GST per season. So ~2.5years when you include the PAYE to get to $57m, then reduce that timeframe with any penalties due to the unpaid taxes. Could have taken as little as 1.5 - 2 years to get that debt using your employee numbers.

freitasm

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#3466579 3-Mar-2026 21:29

And yet, if I'm late to pay tax by one week the IRD is already getting on my neck.

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TinyTim

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#3466588 3-Mar-2026 21:45

If he is (was) a labour supply company and hires RSE (recognised seasonal employer) workers which he most likely was, then the clients will be deducting schedular tax at 12.5% ... which comes off his tax bill so his tax liability is less. He must have been doing something fraudulent over a long period because normally if a labour supply company gets behind in their tax then the IRD will instruct their clients to deduct more tax.

Edit: see prescribed rate.

deepred

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#3466596 4-Mar-2026 00:28

freitasm:

And yet, if I'm late to pay tax by one week the IRD is already getting on my neck.

With the possible exception of those who happen to own superyachts, private jets & Swiss accounts.

"I regret to say that we of the F.B.I. are powerless to act in cases of oral-genital intimacy, unless it has in some way obstructed interstate commerce." — J. Edgar Hoover

"Create a society that values material things above all else. Strip it of industry. Raise taxes for the poor and reduce them for the rich and for corporations. Prop up failed financial institutions with public money. Ask for more tax, while vastly reducing public services. Put adverts everywhere, regardless of people's ability to afford the things they advertise. Allow the cost of food and housing to eclipse people's ability to pay for them. Light blue touch paper." — Andrew Maxwell

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eracode

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#3466598 4-Mar-2026 04:36

freitasm:

And yet, if I'm late to pay tax by one week the IRD is already getting on my neck.

Yes - that’s the nub of my question. Looks like IRD took their eye off the ball on this one.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

k1w1k1d

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#3466606 4-Mar-2026 08:09

I believe that IRD reduced staff in their compliance section during one of their restructuring processes. This allowed some taxpayers to fall behind in PAYE and GST etc. They are now cracking down and are taking these taxpayers to court.

cddt

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#3466616 4-Mar-2026 09:07

No alternative text description for this image

Just boggles the mind

freitasm

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#3466618 4-Mar-2026 09:13

Typical for /r/LinkedInLunatics...

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eracode

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#3466626 4-Mar-2026 09:40

k1w1k1d:

I believe that IRD reduced staff in their compliance section during one of their restructuring processes. This allowed some taxpayers to fall behind in PAYE and GST etc. They are now cracking down and are taking these taxpayers to court.

In the meantime the baddies have declared insolvency and everyone else - including us taxpayers via IRD - miss out. Great move IRD.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

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elpenguino

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#3466655 4-Mar-2026 10:06

eracode:

I can now see how it might get there.

Ballpark figures: Assume he has 2,000 workers on his books and they each earn $30k in a season. That’s $60m pa and PAYE on that at say 25% is $15m pa. Four years unpaid PAYE gets you to $60m - close enough to the alleged $57m.

Seems you can only get there if it goes undetected for a long time. Why wasn’t it detected - that’s really my question.

There's billions in unpaid tax. IRD have ramped up efforts to claw it back and get on top of it, as they should.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

Behodar

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#3466660 4-Mar-2026 10:21

I'm on the train and a guy in a nearby seat pulled out his earbuds. For some reason this caused my own phone to pop up "these aren't your Airpods". Of course they're not! I don't own any, and in any case I haven't tried to pair any. The popup just made me go "huh?"

kingdragonfly

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#3466665 4-Mar-2026 10:49

cddt: ...vibe coded ...

Whenever I see "vibe coded" I think "she'll be right."

Getting help with AI on coding is OK.

Trusting it explicitly is just lazy. Trusting it with financial business logic is just insane.

Tinkerisk

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#3466797 4-Mar-2026 17:40

Behodar:

I'm on the train and a guy in a nearby seat pulled out his earbuds. For some reason this caused my own phone to pop up "these aren't your Airpods". Of course they're not! I don't own any, and in any case I haven't tried to pair any. The popup just made me go "huh?"

You were only warned about other people's AirPods (your neighbor's) that have the AirTag feature. They could be planted on you and used to track you. That's why your smartphone issued the warning.

Qui nihil scit, omnia credere debet. - He who knows nothing must believe everything.
Firewalls do NOT stop dragons!
I avoid Big Tech, they try hard to dictate technology and culture across borders.
In effect we have everything to hide from someone, and no idea who someone is.

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