As seen through the media recently, errors within holiday pay calculations are more common than we’d like to think and not just limited to Government organisations. Due to the complexity of the calculations required to monitor and record holiday pay, errors or deviations from the Holidays Act 2003 (the Act) requirements can occur. This can … Read more
The Government has recently announced a package of proposed tax changes that intend to reduce compliance costs and make tax simpler for businesses. The package is part of the Inland Revenue’s big picture ‘Making Tax Simpler’ initiative that aims to modernise and simplify the tax system. While the proposals will generally apply to all businesses, … Read more
A self-proclaimed tax agent has been found by the Taxation Review Authority (TRA) to have taken an unacceptable tax position and demonstrated a high level of disregard for the consequences of claiming GST refunds over a two and a half year period. The taxpayer claimed a GST refund for five consecutive six month periods from … Read more
The compulsory zero-rating (CZR) of land rules have applied since 1 April 2011. The rules were introduced to combat a pattern of transactions where Inland Revenue (IRD) was paying GST refunds to land purchasers, but there was no corresponding GST returned by the vendor. Although simple in principle, mistakes are being made. To recap, the … Read more
The manner in which we interact with Inland Revenue (IRD) is likely to change dramatically over the next two years as the upgrade of IRD’s IT system and associated legislation comes on-line. IRD’s broad objective is to reduce the amount of time and cost it and private business spends on tax administration by modernising its … Read more
Employers are required to pay FBT on non-cash benefits provided to staff. However, like most taxes, there are exemptions. It is important to be aware of the exemptions to ensure FBT is not overpaid. One such exemption provides that benefits (other than travel, accommodation or clothing) provided and used on the employer’s premises will not … Read more
Imposing Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the digital economy has been a hot topic this year as New Zealand retailers push for equal GST treatment between local and foreign suppliers. At present, foreign providers of cross-border services and intangibles (including music, e-books, videos and software purchased from offshore websites) do not have to pay … Read more
Each year on average, 75 people die on the job and 1 in 10 people are injured at work. With statistics this high, it’s not surprising the Government is reforming New Zealand’s health and safety landscape. A new Health and Safety Reform Bill (the Bill) is currently before Parliament and is expected to pass later … Read more
The Government has released two discussion papers to engage in public consultation on options for simplifying and modernising New Zealand’s tax system. The documents introduce taxpayers to the general direction the Government intends to take to improve administration of the tax system. Basically, the Government wants to simplify tax for individuals and businesses by reducing … Read more
The “general permission” under the Income Tax Act broadly allows expenditure to be deductible if it is: incurred in deriving assessable income, or incurred in the course of carrying on a business for the purpose of deriving assessable income. A recent Taxation Review Authority (TRA) case provides a strong reminder to us of the importance … Read more
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