Online scammers and phishing attacks have become extremely sophisticated lately. Hence, it is understandable that we are constantly warned to be vigilant and on the lookout for the next attack. But as focus shifts to looking outside the organisation, an eye needs to be kept on what is going on within the organisation. Internal [...]

The latest Inland Revenue annual report highlights a significant lift in risk review activity, which potentially lead to full audit proceedings. This stepped-up enforcement resulted in an additional $1 billion of tax revenue for the Government — more than double the $460 million recorded in the previous year. The Government has also committed a [...]

If you or your friends or neighbours have solar panels on the roof of their home it is likely the excess electricity is being sold back to the retailer for a credit on the bill. It is also likely that not much thought has been given to whether that ‘credit’ is actually taxable, however [...]

Earlier this year, Inland Revenue (IRD) released an officials’ issues paper titled “Fringe Benefit Tax – Options for Change”. The paper sought feedback on potential reforms to the FBT regime. The most notable proposals related to the application of FBT to motor vehicles, particularly utes. In the May 2025 Budget, the Government signalled support [...]

As of 1 July 2025, the Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) has come into effect to protect the savings of individuals and businesses if a bank or other ‘deposit-taker’ fails. Managed by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the scheme is designed to strengthen public confidence in the country’s financial system and promote stability during [...]

The Labour party has proposed a targeted capital gains tax (CGT) on profits from the sale of residential investment property and commercial property, with gains taxed at 28%. The tax would apply only to gains made after 1 July 2027, meaning any increase in value that occurs before that date would not be taxed. [...]

With increased Inland Revenue (IRD) scrutiny, one of the issues on IRD’s radar is whether individuals associated with a company are deriving market salaries or not. The IRD’s concern in these scenarios is whether income is being taxed at a rate less than the top personal marginal rate of 39%. For this purpose, two [...]

After a relatively quiet few years through the Covid pandemic, Inland Revenue’s (IR) audit activity has slowly started to increase over the past few years. In 2021, IR’s campaign had a focus on the real estate sector, where the concern was around real estate agents claiming a disproportionately large amount of expenses relative to [...]

BAU is a phrase that is used to describe “business as usual”. It is a good barometer of whether anything strange or unusual has occurred or whether things have been BAU. Invariably, non BAU transactions will occur: an insurance payout, a large asset purchase, a fine or a penalty. This then leads to the [...]

Prior to March 2020, in most cases, if a business donated trading stock it resulted in 'deemed income' equivalent to its market value. This resulted in the receiving business being taxed on a deemed profit margin, even though no cash was received. The 'donated trading stock rule' was initially introduced by IR to counter tax avoidance and address [...]