Stallholders at farmers' markets may soon come under the scrutiny of the Inland Revenue Department.
In its annual Compliance Focus document released last month, tackling the "hidden economy" of businesses that don't declare all their income was one of the IRD's key priorities.
In Whangarei, a growers' market manager recently reported receiving a letter from IRD asking for a stallholder's details and an IRD spokesman confirmed markets were being monitored and may be subject to site checks.
However, the manager of the Tauranga Farmers' Market, Trixie Allen, said she had not had any such communication and was not aware of the IRD contacting or monitoring any of the stallholders.
She is able to provide stallholders' details if requested to do so, but said it was up to each seller to comply with tax regulations. "As independents coming to the market, it's their own responsibility," she said.