Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 80693	2007-07-02 05:30:00	The joys of IRD etc.	Cicero (40)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
564991	2007-07-02 05:30:00	Ex Muriel . Do read and consider . It was Dr Thomas Sowell, author and senior fellow at the Hoover Institute who said about government, “It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong” . All of us, of course, like to hope that our “government” is working in our best interests - after all we pay for the government with our taxes . While we accept that the ruling political party has some influence on what goes on inside the machinery of the government, common sense tells us that the vast public service bureaucracy has a mind of its own . That of course was the theme of Roger Hall’s highly acclaimed “Gliding On” series and the much-loved British programme “Yes Minister” . In real life, however, we know that governments are not necessarily benevolent, but are sometimes responsible for grotesque consequences . The persecution by OSH (the Department of Occupational Safety and Health) of Margaret and Keith Berryman for the death of a beekeeper - as the result of the collapse of a bridge built by the Army on Crown land - is a case in point . The fact that he was not an employee and that the bridge did not belong to the Berrymans did not seem to matter . OSH was determined to prosecute and with their unlimited taxpayer-funded resources, the Berrymans hardly stood a chance . Their case highlighted the power of the bureaucracy and the consequences for those who get offside . This was the theme of the book by MP Rodney Hide The Power to Destroy in which he detailed cases of persecution by the Inland Revenue Department . Included is the tragic case of Ian Mutton, a small businessman who broke his ankle in a work-related accident - which ACC originally refused to cover – getting behind in the payment of tax . Instead of working with Ian and his wife Bronwyn, the IRD applied harsh penalty rates and the couple faced ruin . Unable to cope, Ian took his life and tragically, seven months later, his 13 year old son Trevor followed suit . Christchurch businessman Dave Henderson, in his book Be Very Afraid: One Man’s Stand Against the IRD outlines his nightmare battle with the IRD, which fabricated a $1million debt against him . Dave’s four-year-long campaign eventually resulted in the false assessment being reversed in favour of a $65,000 refund . The book is now being turned into a film which Dave hopes will encourage more people to stand up against state stupidity and aggression . Inhuman government regimes have been the cause of many deaths . The IRD is not the only government department that drives people to suicide: parents, crushed through the loss of their children as a result of the grossly unfair family law system, have taken their lives on a regular basis, and sometimes the lives of their children as well . Every week patients die on hospital waiting lists as they hope against hope for the medical treatment they believe the government promised it would provide .	Cicero (40)
564992	2007-07-02 06:19:00	Nowhere near as bad as what was describned up there ^ but still a wakeup call for me: Five years after I was made redundant from a job, I get a letter from the IRD saying I owed $1200 for that year (my average pay at that job was approx $25,000 p.a). Thankfully I had kept my redundancy letter etc and was able to tell them why the extra money. (I was made redundant BEFORE the IRD was able to tax it, the letter with their 'assessment' was AFTER the law change whereby the IRD could tax your redundancy). They soon realised their mistake and scrubbed the bill. And my story is just a small one, I know there would be other much larger bills issued	Myth (110)
564993	2007-07-02 21:35:00	Surely someone is amused that these people get away with murder!	Cicero (40)
564994	2007-07-02 23:37:00	Amused is not the word - appalled would be better. Challenging Government Civil Service decisions is a very difficult process for the average citizen, who is not blessed with deep pockets and the crusader spirit, because a win against the "Department" will come at a very high personal cost. It is unlikely that a government employee who too rigorously applied the regulations and victimised an innocent taxpayer will be disciplined. From what I can see of the civil service the only way an errant staff member can be fired is to commit an act of dishonesty against the government. The problem seems to be that there is no really affordable independent authority against the IRD that a victimised taxpayer can have take a case against the department. I recall several years ago a case reported in the NZ Herald where an IRD officer advised a taxpayer that the only way a client would get him off his back was to commit suicide. But it was no more than a two day wonder to the public. I believe there is a problem in New Zealand with the awarding of costs. To the best of my knowledge,the Berrymans were never adequately compensated for their legal costs, or the loss of their farm, let alone the trauma inflicted on them. Challenging goverment resources in the courts, so far as personal legal costs are concerned is a recipe for potential financial ruin. Several years ago, I floated the idea as a National Party remit, that people that incurred legal costs establishing their innocence in Police prosecutions should of right be reimbursed for their costs - this was decried by several lawyers that it was not necessary, as a judge had the discretion to decree that the Police pay the accused's costs - But how often does this occur. On a smaller scale, we all know of cases with traffic offences where to establish your innocence is the expensive option as the costs involved far exceed the penalty that will be awarded. But it is hardly justice.	KenESmith (6287)
564995	2007-07-02 23:53:00	I used the word amused to shock. It seems we are unshockable,do what you like to us,we don't care.	Cicero (40)
564996	2007-07-03 00:21:00	The IRD did get an outsider from Australia as boss in a move to change their attitude towards taxpayers. The cases above happened before that. OSH needs to account for underspending it's budget while workers are still being killed too often in NZ.	PaulD (232)
1