Inland Revenue says it won’t proactively chase Kiwis living overseas who may receive the Government’s cost of living payment in error.
The first instalment of the payment, a Budget sweetener put in place to help deal with rising inflation, is due to be sent to about 2 million people on Monday, with emails and texts sent out to those eligible for it over the weekend.
The $350 payment is supposed to go to Kiwis who earned up to $70,000 last year, with one of the requirements being that they reside here.
Are you a New Zealander living overseas affected by this? Email newstips@stuff.co.nz
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It will be paid in three instalments; Monday, then on September 1 and October 3.
But confusion abounded on social media on Sunday from Kiwis overseas, after emails arrived from Inland Revenue to say they would be receiving it.
“There must be an issue with their algorithm to determine who gets the payment because I’ve been in London for four years now,” one wrote of the email on a UK-based Facebook group.
The cost of living payment is aimed at easing inflation costs for those living in New Zealand, but it appears some Kiwis living overseas will receive the money in error.
Stuff counted at least 10 others in a similar situation as the original poster.
Dr Blake Highet, a scientist in Utah’s Salt Lake City, said he felt like he deserved the money because he had done the Delta lockdown in Auckland, which began in August 2021 and ended in December.
He only moved to Utah for a job in a lab a couple of months ago, but that should make him ineligible for the payment.
Highet said he was going to spend the money on dog racing. “It’s all going on number eight race five at Sandown,” he said.
“And I’m doubling down in September when the next one comes through.”
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Doctor Blake Highet said he felt like he deserved the payment because he had done the Delta lockdown in Auckland.
An Inland Revenue spokesperson said it had based its payment on the information it held at the time of making each cost of living payment.
“It is possible that, for a number of technical reasons, there will be people who didn’t expect to get the cost of living payment, who are eligible to receive the first of the three payments due tomorrow,” the spokesperson said.
Inland Revenue was using “a variety of information” including addresses, bank accounts and tax residency status.
“People must have had a 2022 tax assessment with eligible income such as salary and wages or bank interest.
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Kiwis who have lived in London for several years reported receiving word they will be getting the cost of living payment.
If someone has left the country, and hasn’t told Inland Revenue they’re not living in New Zealand, Inland Revenue will treat them as resident, and they may receive the cost of living payment, the spokesperson said.
Kiwis who weren’t in paid work in New Zealand during the 2021/22 tax year could also receive the payment if they had income from bank interest. People who receive Working for Families payments may also receive it.
“It is also possible that the information that we have been provided to determine eligibility could be incorrect,” a spokesperson said.
“For example, a person may be recorded as 27 when they are 17 years old.”
Several of Kiwis overseas have already vowed to pay back and opt out of their cost of living payment instalments, but Inland Revenue says it won’t necessarily go after those who don’t.
“We’ll only apply resources to identify such cases, and to recover payments, when there has been fraudulent or wilfully misleading information provided.
“We’ll be able to use our usual debt recovery options, such as deductions from a person’s salary and wages, or their bank account.”
The spokesperson said Inland Revenue was also aware there was a text scam circulating related to the payment which CERT has warned about.
“For e-mails, the easiest way to tell if an e-mail is a scam is to hover over the address it has come from to check if that address includes ‘govt.nz’. If it does, it will be from us.”
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