Minimum Wage Increase
Effective 01 April 2017, the Government announced that the adult minimum wage increased by $0.50 cents to $15.75 an hour.
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Legal
Further ACC Levy Reductions
On 7 December 2016, the Acting ACC Minister, the Hon Nathan Guy, confirmed the ACC levy rates for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 years. The Minister said that there will be reductions totalling $126.2m per annum to work and motor vehicle levies, while the earners’ levy will remain unchanged. The announcement means that: the average
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The Perils of a PPOA
It is important for individuals to correctly determine their residency status for tax purposes, as a New Zealand tax resident is taxed on their ‘worldwide income’. A person is considered to be a New Zealand resident for tax purposes if they have been physically present in New Zealand for more than 183 days in any
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Trust Reforms
Trusts are a popular way of protecting property and managing assets in New Zealand. The number of trusts we have in New Zealand is unknown, but estimates put the figure between 300,000 and 500,000. The legislation governing NZ trusts has remained unchanged for decades as it has been predominantly governed by the Trustee Act 1956.
Winding up a Company
Recently, there has been an increased level of sophistication on the part of Inland Revenue (IRD) when reviewing company windups. Important points to bear in mind when winding up a company are outlined below. Before applying to the Companies Office for removal from the companies register, a company should have discharged its liabilities to all
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May tax Bill
In May 2016, the Government introduced the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2016–17, Closely Held Companies, and Remedial Matters) Bill (the Bill). Some of the key changes proposed in the Bill are outlined below. Tainted capital gains Capital gains derived by a company from the sale of a capital asset are able to be distributed tax
Health & Safety at Work Act 2015
New Regulations took effect from 1st April 2016. Any Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (“PCBU”) is responsible for workplace health & safety. A business entity such as a company, trust, partnership or sole trader now has the primary duty under the new law to ensure health and safety of workers and other affected by
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Compulsory zero-rating of land
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
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Holiday Pay Mishaps
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
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Bright-line Property Rule
As part of Budget 2015, the Government has passed into law a “bright-line” test for the sale of residential property. The test will require income tax to be paid on any gains from the sale of residential property that is bought and sold within two years. This came into effect from 01 October 2015. What’s
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