According to figures shared by a leading credit reporting firm, Veda Advantage, the number of New Zealand businesses defaulting with regards to loan and credit repayment is increasing rapidly. The figures are being viewed as a direct result of the current economically difficult times.

According to the data made public by the agency, there has been around 50% increase in the number of commercial defaulters in 10 months ending October this year, as compared to last year's number for the same time. Furthermore, there was a 55.3% increase compared to figures of October 2008.

"These are the numbers which explain, in part, why the government's tax take is down. Businesses are experiencing tough trading conditions and now we are seeing the end result - businesses can't pay their bills", says Veda managing director John Roberts. According to Treasury figures made public on Wednesday, the corporate tax revenue recorded by the Government for the July-September 2009 period was $900 Million lower than forecast.

Figures shared by Veda have further revealed that while application for mortgages rose as much as 20.2% in October this year compared to October 2008, consumer applications for credit cards, personal loans and hire purchase have gone down in the past 10 months.