The Bulletin: Farewell Makhlouf, shame about the mess

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Makhlouf departs with questions hanging in the air, emissions still not moving the right way, and ministerial roles in housing reshuffled. A few months ago, you’d probably be forgiven for not knowing the name Gabriel Makhlouf. Until yesterday, he was the secretary of Treasury – an … Read more

The frustrating complexity of the new R&D tax scheme

The incoming R&D tax credits scheme makes government research and development incentives available to a much wider range of Kiwi businesses. But there are caveats to be aware of, reports Jihee Junn.  You don’t need to know a whole lot about business to understand the value of R&D. It’s what keeps businesses competitive, sustainable and … Read more

Why half-baked R&D changes are a finger in the eye to startups and software

The government is proposing to reshape research and development incentives, with MBIE proposing to phase out the Callaghan Growth Grants and replace them with R&D tax credits. Nathan Torkington has some concerns. As the FAQ says, there are differences in the definition of eligible expenditure between the Growth Grant and the proposed R&D tax incentive (for instance, overseas expenditure … Read more

Save our startups: an R&D SOS

Budget 2018 signalled significant changes to the government’s approach to R&D. Toby Littin, co-founder of parking and business parking app Parkable, asks Innovation Minister Megan Woods to reconsider her plan to push our knowledge economy into the sea – or worse, Australia. Imagine an escalator. You’ve got the greying fat cats at the top, lapping up … Read more

Budget 18 is stuck in the present. We need investment in innovation for the future

The Budget’s R&D spend looks less than futuristic, says Grant Thornton’s Greg Thompson. While a chunk of this year’s expenditure naturally focuses on the perennial portfolios of health, education, justice and housing, this Budget aims to adjust the direction of our economy to deliver not just now but in years to come. This has been … Read more