Govt congratulates App4IR winners

Revenue Minister Todd McClay has congratulated Matt Innes and Josh Lee on winning the App4IR Challenge.

“Matt and Josh’s proposal includes adapting the existing myIR platform for use on mobile devices by incorporating fingerprint technology for security," McClay says.

"The App is also designed as a one-stop-shop where a customer can access multiple accounts at the same time, which will be of major benefit to small business owners."

Innes and Lee will receive $10 000 and be given the opportunity to further develop the app with Inland Revenue.

“The App4IR Challenge, launched on 6 March, was designed to help Inland Revenue develop a mobile app to make interacting with our tax system easier and faster," McClay adds.

“The process has been extremely successful; by using crowdsourcing, Inland Revenue was able to connect directly with designers, software developers and ICT organisations to find the best ideas."

The challenge attracted 311 registrations of interest, 53 were developed into complete submissions and six were selected as finalists.

The finalists presented their ideas to a Dragons Den-style panel of judges, including the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, who chose Innes and Lee as the winner.

“Inland Revenue is committed to developing services that ensure that businesses and individuals can meet their tax requirements quicker, easier and cheaper, Matt and Josh’s winning proposal does exactly that," McClay adds.

“The focus is on improving Inland Revenue’s digital channels and online services so that customers can interact with us 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“App4IR is an important step in achieving that and I offer my congratulations to Matt and Josh on developing such an outstanding winning entry."