Inland Revenue made the headlines end of April 2023 with the release of its report on the amount of tax paid by our high-wealth individuals (HWIs). The findings were that HWIs’ overall effective tax rate when taking into account all sources of income, including unrealised capital gains, is 8.9%. The Treasury simultaneously released a number [...]
One of the fundamental director’s duties within the NZ Companies Act 1993 (‘the Act’) is to act in good faith and in what the director believes to be the best interest of the company. This has traditionally been interpreted to mean decisions should be aimed at maximising shareholder returns. In September 2021, an amendment was [...]
A new year’s resolution to grow your business is likely to require growing your team. It’s fair to say that the labour market is tight at the moment and seems to be getting tighter with each passing month. Recruitment for staff is taking much longer, with a reduction in both the number and skills [...]
Private schools will typically be registered as a charity. As such, parents will sometimes treat payments to the school as a charitable donation for tax purposes. Inland Revenue are making it clear on its interpretation on this subject through the release in October 2022 of QB 22/09 – Income Tax – Payments made by [...]
In New Zealand the provisional tax regime is designed to help taxpayers manage their income tax obligations, by requiring certain taxpayers to pay tax in instalments throughout the year, instead of one large lump sum at the end of the year. This regime applies to taxpayers who have residual income tax (RIT) of greater [...]
In November 2022 Inland Revenue issued TDS 22/21, a Technical Decision Summary on whether the profit from a subdivision was subject to income tax and GST. TDS 22/21 covered a dispute involving a subdivision by the taxpayer of land into two lots. The taxpayer had acquired the property for the purpose of renovating and [...]
Despite recent reductions in property prices, there is little doubt that the passion New Zealanders have for investing in residential property will survive. However, the tax treatment of residential rental investments has increasingly become a tangled web of complexity due to changes in legislation over the past few years. It used to be that [...]
In today’s workplace environment, expectations around employee benefits are changing, with the norm shifting in the employee’s favour. For many, the days of a 9-5 workday and mandatory workplace attendance are a distant memory, to the point where flexible hours and working environments are considered a bare minimum. As the war for talent has [...]
In 2017 Inland Revenue released an Interpretation Statement, IS 17/02, which formalised the long-standing practice of allowing a farmer to claim a portion of their farmhouse expenditure on the basis it is the “headquarters” of the farm. But then in 2020 Interpretation Statement IS 20/05 was released by Inland Revenue which overthrew the common [...]
On 29 August 2022 Inland Revenue released a 49-page report: “Fringe benefit tax: regulatory stewardship review”, which reports the summary, findings and recommendations of a review of New Zealand’s current Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) regime – a regime whose design and operation has not been subject to a full review for nearly 20 years. [...]
