Ugh, taxes.

The mere mention of the word brings on sweat, clamminess, and an urge to use the bathroom. Let’s face it: no-one likes doing taxes.

But the whole process may now be a bit less painful for small businesses courtesy of myIR mobile. A new smartphone app, from Inland Revenue and Sush Mobile, allows small business owners – who are registered for GST and Inland Revenue’s myIR online service – to file their taxes straight from their handheld device, no paper or bulky desktop computer required.

Is this what business needs in the 21st century? Brett Calton, strategy manager of integrated channels at Inland Revenue seems to think so.

“As technology changes the way companies carry out their day-to-day business, we must keep up with and meet their needs,” he says in a recent press release.

“Having listened to our customers, myIR mobile enables small business owners to interact with us simply and conveniently, 24 hours a day to deal with their GST information at the touch of a button.”

With the app, users can file their taxes and pay either with their bank, credit or debit card. Common activities are organised into logistical groups, and forms are converted for mobile display that work on a variety of devices. Users can also update personal information and receive notifications about due dates. The app can be downloaded through iTunes.

Inland Revenue began development of the app with a crowdsourcing competition called App4IR, which saw over 50 entries. Kiwi outfit Sush Mobile was selected to develop the app after a lengthy period of research and evaluation.

Sush is a developer of end-to-end mobile solutions, with a specialisation in apps for Android, iOS, and Windows Phones.

While taxes themselves may not be the most innovative of concepts, easier ways to do them can’t be a bad idea, surely, and may even free up businesses to do what they’re supposed to do best: innovate.