Naomi Patricia Ferguson QSO is a British and New Zealand public servant. She served as the commissioner and chief executive of the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department from 2012 to 2022. [1]
Naomi Patricia Ferguson QSO is a British and New Zealand public servant. She served as the commissioner and chief executive of the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department from 2012 to 2022. [1]
Ferguson was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and studied at the University of Glasgow, graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature and Sociology. [1] [2]
On graduating, Ferguson joined Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs as a trainee tax inspector, followed by a short period working at Barclays Bank as the Human Resources, Restructuring and Development Director, and then returned to HMRC. [2] [3] She has also held the position of Regional Director for Inland Revenue in Northern Ireland. [4]
In 2003, Ferguson was seconded to the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department as deputy commissioner for a period of three years. From 2006 to 2012 she was director, business customer and strategy for HMRC. In July 2012 she was appointed commissioner and chief executive of the New Zealand IRD, [2] becoming the first woman to hold these positions. [3] She left the roles in June 2022. [5]
In 2016, Ferguson won the New Zealand Women of Influence Award in Public Policy. [1] In the 2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours, she was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order, for services to the public service. [6]
HM Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of state support, the administration of other regulatory regimes including the national minimum wage and the issuance of national insurance numbers. HMRC was formed by the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise, which took effect on 18 April 2005. The department's logo is the St Edward's Crown enclosed within a circle.
Taxes in New Zealand are collected at a national level by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) on behalf of the Government of New Zealand. National taxes are levied on personal and business income, and on the supply of goods and services. Capital gains tax applies in limited situations, such as the sale of some rental properties within 10 years of purchase. Some "gains" such as profits on the sale of patent rights are deemed to be income – income tax does apply to property transactions in certain circumstances, particularly speculation. There are currently no land taxes, but local property taxes (rates) are managed and collected by local authorities. Some goods and services carry a specific tax, referred to as an excise or a duty, such as alcohol excise or gaming duty. These are collected by a range of government agencies such as the New Zealand Customs Service. There is no social security (payroll) tax.
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