Latest News
Snippets: UK’s HMRC hit workers with big tax bills
The UK’s tax collection department (HMRC) has been sending letters to tens of thousands of taxpayers, demanding they pay large outstanding tax obligations. The letters have come as a surprise to many and have allegedly been linked to 10 suicides. The issue has arisen out of the use of umbrella companies. Workers would have their
Snippets: End of year write-offs
As increasing interest rates have bitten and with industry sectors such as retail and construction not performing as strongly, some businesses are struggling. As the end of the financial year approaches, now is a good time to assess whether any of your accounts receivable need to be written off as ‘bad’. This is because, in
Trust Disclosure regime – Insights from the first year
After the introduction of the Trust Disclosure rules in March 2022, in November 2023 Inland Revenue released a high-level summary (in the form of a 40-page report) of insights from the first year of reporting. While tax advisors and clients alike may have begrudgingly completed the disclosures initially, the statistics may prove to be interesting.
De facto relationship or not?
The Working for Families Tax Credit (WFFTC) is a notoriously complex scheme when it comes to determining eligibility and quantifying entitlement. This leads you to wonder how well the scheme is policed by Inland Revenue, and whether fraud is able to ‘fly under the radar’. Accordingly, it was heartening to see a case brought before
Extracting cash tax-free from a company
For 99.9% of the time, New Zealand companies are incorporated to operate a business and derive income. On establishment, the focus tends to be on items such as: whether a company is the appropriate vehicle, e.g. does limited liability protection warrant it; who should own the shares, e.g. in personal names or in a Trust;
Assessing your business’s viability
Sitting back at your desk after a month of busy family time or relaxing beach days, business owners and executive teams should start to think about not only the year ahead, but the long-term viability of their businesses. With rapid changes and multiple existential threats impacting different businesses in different ways, it might be an
Snippets: Covid fraud
Given the necessity of providing fast relief, the wage subsidy scheme provided during COVID in NZ was largely based on trust. Today, MSD operates a Wage Subsidy Integrity and Fraud Programme aimed at ensuring the integrity of the payments and who received them. So far, 38 people have been brought before the courts in relation
Snippets: National’s tax policies – property
Given the outcome of the general election, we expect to see legislation that will make the following tax changes. The ability to claim interest deductions on debt relating to some residential rental properties acquired before 27 March 2021 will be progressively phased out. National’s tax policy promises to retain a 50% allowable deduction in the
Australia’s tax system compared
With the recent inflation driven surge in the cost of living, apparent increase in crime and seemingly constant complaints about the education and health systems, some New Zealanders are considering packing up and moving to Australia. But is the grass really greener – at least from a tax perspective? Firstly, unlike New Zealand, Australia has
Tax pooling & provisional tax
For a standard 12-month year, provisional tax is due in three instalments. The instalments generally fall on the 28th day of the fifth, ninth and thirteenth months. However, this is varied in certain situations. For example, for a business with a 31 March balance date the instalments are due on 28 August, 15 January and
Dividends – get the basics right
When the top personal tax rate for individuals increased to 39% from 1 April 2021, it was not surprising to see an increase in the number and quantum of dividends declared by companies (owned by individuals) in the lead up to the change. With the anticipated increase in the Trust tax rate from 33% to
From my desk…
Greetings, Finally we have a government and Winston has made his comeback! The Christmas cake is made and is receiving good feedback, the glass of port washing it down may help? Please call into the office for a taste and some Christmas spirit. We thank all clients for what has been a very challenging year
