Source: New Zealand Treasury:
Tables of monthly tax revenue and receipts from collecting departments
Tax data are sometimes difficult to interpret as economic indicators, but tax outturns are among the earliest data available about the state of the economy. The Government has decided that it is important that this information about the economy should be available to market analysts, and the general public, as soon as possible.
Monthly tax outturn data are published here, usually by the end of the following month, shortly after they are reported to Ministers.
Outturns for December 2020
Total unconsolidated tax revenue for the six months ended December 2020 was $1,944 million (3.9%) above the 2020 Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update forecast and $4,065 million (8.5%) more than last year. GST, corporate tax and source deductions were above forecast and customs duty was below forecast. The remainder of the tax types were close to forecast.
Total unconsolidated tax receipts for the six months ended December 2020 were $1,135 million (2.6%) above forecast and $2,380 million (5.5%) greater than last year. GST, corporate tax and other persons tax were above forecast and customs duty was below forecast. For further details, refer to the Interim Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the six months ended 31 December 2020.
Note
The figures reported in the spreadsheets below are on an unconsolidated basis, adding to total tax, and differ from the figures reported in the monthly financial statements of the Government. The monthly financial statements are prepared on a consolidated basis, meaning they eliminate tax transactions between Departments, State-owned enterprises and Crown entities. The eliminations are included in Section III in the Monthly History spreadsheet for comparison with the figures in the financial statements of the Government.
Next Release of Tax Outturn Data
The Treasury publishes tax outturns in conjunction with the release of the monthly Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand. Sometimes there are delays in data collection due to audits, holidays, or changes to processes. If the release date should change, a message will appear on this page and on the Treasury main page. The upcoming release dates are listed on the Treasury’s Calendar of upcoming releases. The standard time for each release will be 10am.
Tax Revenue Outturns
Tax revenue, which measures tax due in a given time period, entails estimation. Some tax types use taxpayers’ own estimates from their tax returns. These are subject to revisions when new returns are filed, application of revenue recognition rules when assessments and payments do not reconcile, etc. Other tax types require some estimation from the tax-collecting entity because returns for the current period are usually unavailable at the time of reporting. While several checks are done, such as sampling and individually reviewing exceptionally large estimates, the nature of revenue means it is more difficult to measure than receipts. Tax revenue figures are audited independently at 30 June each year and adjustments made if necessary. For these reasons, the monthly track of many tax types may be more erratic for revenue than receipts.
Notes on Historical Data
The “Monthly history” spreadsheet includes monthly tax receipts and revenue data from July 1990 and July 1993 respectively. Each worksheet tab contains up to four sections. The first section displays monthly cash receipts/accrual revenue by tax type. We have omitted some very minor taxes.
The second section consists of aggregates: individuals, corporates (net company, foreign-source dividends, non-resident withholding), net GST.
The third section shows the eliminations that, when removed, give Core Crown Tax and Fully Consolidated Tax respectively.
The fourth section shows tax write-offs by tax type. From June 2007, tax revenues have been reported gross of tax write-offs, whereas previously they were reported net of tax write-offs. Tax write-offs are now included separately as an expense item in the financial statements. To get a series consistent with the figures prior to June 2007, users of the data may like to subtract tax write-offs from the corresponding tax revenue line above.
