We're Paying 2015 Tax Refunds Now!
Payday has arrived! The IRD have begun releasing the 2015 tax refunds, allowing us to pay all of our valued customers. Our leading edge mobile technology enabled us to begin payments to our Mobile App customers a day prior to the official 2015 Payday, June 11.
Our customers are being notified by email and text message to let them know their tax refunds are on the way to their bank accounts, or their cheques are being couriered to their doorsteps. WooHoo!
What does this mean for the economy?
"Thousands of people around the country will be enjoying a WooHoo moment soon as they receive their overpaid tax back into their bank accounts. If all these people decide to go out and treat themselves, it will be of huge benefit to towns and cities all around New Zealand." Says Cilla Hegarty, CEO of WooHoo.
Estimates by us, shown in the table below, indicate that if all the employed people in these regions claimed the overpaid tax that may be owing to them, over $1 billion could be injected into the economy. This includes over $340 million into the Auckland region alone.
| Region | Number of employed people* | Possible regional tax refund total $** |
| Northland | 73,500 | 31,443,300 |
| Auckland region | 796,900 | 340,913,820 |
| Waikato | 221,400 | 94,714,920 |
| Bay of Plenty | 139,400 | 59,635,320 |
| Gisbourne/Hawke's Bay | 98,900 | 42,309,420 |
| Taranaki | 60,000 | 25,668,000 |
| Manawatu/Wanganui | 107,800 | 46,116,840 |
| Wellington region | 265,800 | 113,709,240 |
| Tasman/Nelson/Marl/West Coast | 90,800 | 38,844,240 |
| Canterbury | 330,100 | 141,216,780 |
| Otago | 121,600 | 52,020,480 |
| Southland | 54,600 | 23,357,880 |
| TOTAL | 2,360,800 | 1,009,950,240 |
*Source: StatsNZ, March 2014
**Unaudited calculation made by multiplying the number of people employed by 0.93 (the percentage of WooHoo's customers who have overpaid their tax in the past five years) x $460 (the average refund received by WooHoo's customers).
Mrs Hegarty said it was a shame that so many people in New Zealand don’t claim the overpaid tax that may be owed to them.
"93% of our customers have overpaid their taxes in the past five years. If everyone got what was owing to them, there could be major benefits flowing through to local economies. It always amazes me that so many people just do not check if they're owed a refund, as there is literally millions of dollars of overpaid tax waiting to be claimed."
With this in mind, there's no time better than the present to get online and apply for your WooHoo tax refund. You may have a WooHoo waiting!