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 […]
Slammed for gross carelessness Read More »
According to the Inland Revenue (IRD), commercial building owners should be denied a deduction for expenditure incurred in determining whether their buildings meet new earthquake protection standards. IRD’s draft Questions We’ve Been Asked pub00223, (QWBA) publication asserts that expenditure incurred on detailed seismic assessments (DSA’s) is capital in nature and therefore non-deductible because it relates
No relief for earthquake strengthening expenditure Read More »
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
Holiday Pay Mishaps Read More »
Further cuts to ACC levies ACC must collect sufficient funds to cover the costs of all current and past claims. In 1999 the Government realised funding was insufficient to cover on-going costs of pre-1999 claims and therefore, introduced a ‘residual levy’ to build up adequate funds. The residual levy has been incorporated into the work
Snippets…Nov 2015 – Jan 2016 Read More »
In the past, an IRD audit could be commenced for no other reason than the business had not been audited in recent years. Audits would start with the stereotypical interview comprising a series of broad questions that may or may not apply to the business, before the investigator would commence trawling through invoices looking to
Inland Revenue Scrutiny Read More »
The Government wants to change the law so that everyone renting in New Zealand can live in safer, warmer and healthier homes. Lets see what this means for tenants and landlords. If the changes go ahead, all rental properties would have to meet new insulation standards and be fitted with smoke alarms. This would ensure
Are you a Landlord? Tenancy Law Changes coming Read More »
There is currently significant public interest in the New Zealand housing market, whether it be issues relating to the Auckland ‘bubble’, property speculation, non-resident buyers, banking restrictions or a combination of these. In response, the Government is introducing a number of changes designed to either directly influence the market, or assist with decision making when
Land – themes of change Read More »
Fonterra’s latest estimate of the dairy payout for the 2015/16 season is $3.85/kg milk solids. This comes off a record $8.40/kg for the 2013/2014 season. It is estimated the average dairy farmer needs $5.60/kg of milk solids to breakeven, so it goes without saying that financial upheaval is coming, but how significant and wide reaching
The impact of ‘dairy’ Read More »
The 2015 budget didn’t really throw up anything too exciting. If you are interested, here is a brief summary courtesy of CCH New Zealand: “No surprises” Budget — well, mostly The big tax headlines were made prior to the budget, with pre-Budget announcements extending the tax rules for residential property sales. Budget 2015 sees some
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
Modernising New Zealand’s Tax System Read More »