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Story: Dishonesty crime

IRD and the banks

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IRD and the banks

In the early 2000s the four largest banks in New Zealand – the BNZ, ASB, ANZ-National and Westpac – faced a massive tax bill of $2 billion over 'structured finance transactions' which the Inland Revenue Department deemed to be tax evasion. The companies agreed to a settlement totaling $1.7 billion in 2009. This cartoon plays on the fact that at the time BNZ was featuring little pigs in advertisements.

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Private collection

by Mike Moreu

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Dishonesty crime – Copyright crime and tax evasion, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/31196/ird-and-the-banks (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 6 April 2011, reviewed and revised 2 November 2018 with assistance from Greg Newbold.