The Tax Lady is a boutique accountancy business in Wellington, New Zealand, focused on serving small businesses, self-employed individuals, trusts and rental property owners. The business was formed in 1996 by Carol Rankin, who originally ran it from the billiard room of her Stokes Valley residence, before two of her staff, Ian Voisey and Maria Anderson, took over as directors in 2007 as she eased into retirement.
The Tax Lady operates from two locations: a Central Wellington office at Orbit Tower on Dixon Street for client appointments, and a processing centre in Silverstream, Upper Hutt. The team are registered Tax Agents with Inland Revenue and members of the Accountants and Tax Agents Institute of NZ, and support clients using MYOB and Xero software.
The business is built around a small, personal team, including taxation consultants Viv Sutton (the firm's GST specialist since 2003), Gemma Falleni (MYOB and Xero specialist since 2008), Clare Kynaston, and taxation contractors Nikki Vlas and Shruti Kamat, along with administration assistant Celine Sinclair. The Tax Lady offers a complimentary 25-minute consultation for anyone considering switching to them as their tax agent.
Not every accounting firm can trace its origins to a billiard room, but The Tax Lady can. Founded in 1996 by Carol Rankin, the business began life run out of the billiard room of her Stokes Valley residence — a fittingly personal start for a firm that has built its reputation on close, individual client relationships ever since.
In 2007, two of Carol's staff, Ian Voisey and Maria Anderson, took over the business as she eased into retirement, keen to preserve the personal service she had built. They stayed in her original premises for a further four years before expanding and moving the processing side of the business to Silverstream in Upper Hutt, while keeping the Dixon Street office in central Wellington open for client appointments, since many clients are based in town. Ian has been associated with The Tax Lady since its founding year in 1996 and joined the staff in 2003, back when GST returns were still filed using DOS. Maria joined in 2004 after 24 years in accounting with the P&O Group, initially planning to help out for a few weeks — and never left.
Beyond its two directors, The Tax Lady's team includes several long-serving specialists. Viv Sutton, who joined in February 2003, is the firm's GST expert, handling the trickiest cases involving withholding tax reconciliation with IRD. Gemma Falleni, on board since 2008, is described as the firm's guru with MYOB Accountants Office software, with a growing interest in Xero, and prepares financial accounts and income tax returns for a wide range of clients. More recent additions include Clare Kynaston, who joined in 2018 after moving to New Zealand from England, and Shruti Kamat, a certified Xero advisor who joined in 2022 after completing a Masters in Financial Management at the University of Canterbury. Administration is handled by Celine Sinclair, who has been with the firm since 2013. Even semi-retired team members like Adrienne Simpson, a specialist in BankLink and financial accounts since 2013, still pop in occasionally to help out.
The Tax Lady is registered as a Tax Agent with Inland Revenue and is a member of the Accountants and Tax Agents Institute of NZ, but what stands out most in client testimonials is the human side of the business. Clients describe directors and staff taking time to explain tax processes in plain language, working through IRD discrepancies patiently, and even offering homemade cakes and biscuits in the office. One client recalled discussing their dogs with Ian during a stressful first meeting about an impending IRD audit, and described feeling "part of their family" once introduced to the wider team. Another client, having moved from a larger accounting firm, specifically praised not being charged for quick questions — a detail that speaks to the firm's small, less transactional way of working.
The Tax Lady's service list is squarely aimed at small business owners, self-employed individuals, trusts, and rental property investors: general taxation, GST, FBT, company secretarial services, start-up support, rental property accounting, trust accounting, and Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) tax matters. For anyone weighing up a switch, the firm offers a complimentary 25-minute consultation to talk through their situation before committing.
In a detail that says a lot about the firm's culture, The Tax Lady's team page includes Lui, also known as Chewie, the office's part-time pup who comes in every other day and greets clients at the door — and a nod to Woollie, a now-deceased office cat who reportedly started showing up to work after breaking his leg and never stopped, offering "stress relief for staff and clients" between naps.
For Wellington and Upper Hutt small business owners looking for a tax agent who treats client relationships as genuinely personal rather than purely transactional, The Tax Lady's three-decade history and long-tenured team offer a distinctly boutique alternative to larger accounting firms.