It’s our job to be fair, went the old ad campaign from the IRD. It’s my job to be kind, goes the on brand message from the Prime Minister. So we’re heading for a kinder and fairer tax system then? Guyon Espiner, writing for RNZ, is skeptical. But when it comes to making changes to … Read more
Employee subsidies for public transport, less tax on KiwiSaver: There are some gems in the government’s latest tax report other than the capital gains distraction, writes tax expert Terry Baucher. For over 50 years a variety of tax working groups have pondered the greatest philosophical question in New Zealand tax: Should we tax all capital … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tax on tech giants proposed but doesn’t go far, peace may be breaking out in China stoush, and the incredible story of two brothers vs the Avondale Business Association. The government has made a big announcement on taxing internet giants, but there are a lot of … Read more
Property owners learn their fate on Thursday with the Tax Working Group‘s big reveal on capital capital gains tax. But whatever happens, it won’t be the housing panacea Generation Rent is hoping for, warns TOP’s Geoff Simmons. Here’s a message for young people who don’t yet own a home. In the coming months you will … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM tells MPs it’s time to deliver some results, National launches new tax policy aimed at bracket creep, and Local Government NZ counts cost of climate change. It’s time for the rubber to meet the road, as far as the government’s agenda is concerned. PM Jacinda Ardern … Read more
In a video filmed for a conference the health minister was scheduled to open but then withdrew from, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver implores David Clark to pass a sugar tax. Watch below. Following on from the dressing down he directed at the National Party for failing to attend a sugar tax symposium last year, … Read more
Tax law makes it pretty clear: services being provided in New Zealand attract goods and services tax. So why can’t the US electric scooter ride share phenomenon clarify whether it’s collecting it? Update 22 November: For Lime’s response to this story, see the comments at the the bottom of the page. As Hayden Donnell wrote … Read more
An anti-corruption student media start-up says there’s an ugly underbelly to building a new life in Aotearoa. Leo Shao is an unlikely caped crusader. The softly spoken 20-something looks like any other student striding around Auckland’s CBD in his dark duffle coat, takeaway cup in hand. Yet behind this understated exterior lies an alter ego. Shao … Read more
Will the latest review of our tax system be another instance of New Zealand dancing around a capital gains tax? Tax specialist Terry Baucher investigates. The news that the Tax Working Group’s interim report due out very shortly won’t specifically recommend a capital gains tax (CGT) begs the question: Is this the fifth such group … Read more
As Australian banks make more and more money in New Zealand, they contribute less and less to the economy, says Sam Stubbs. Here’s what we can do about it. The Australian banking inquiry has been the greatest scandal in Australian corporate history. Heads are rolling, fines being handed out and criminal charges laid. And it’s far … Read more
Hayden Donnell read about Google’s tax strategy, and went on a journey to try and replicate it for himself. “Can I formally notify you that I’m not paying tax in 2018?” “No.” Reporter Hayden Donnell’s voyage into the world of multinational tax strategy began with a stern rebuke from the IRD, and it’s not a … Read more
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 2018: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a tax, says Grant Thornton’s Dan Lowe. Budget day is fast approaching and the predictions are coming thick and fast. Many will be watching with keen interest, not just because it’ll be Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s first budget since being … Read more
In today’s Cheat Sheet, we take a look at the so-called ‘Amazon tax’ and what it means for local retailers and consumers. So what’s the government taxing now? The government has announced that low-value goods bought online from overseas will now be subject to a goods and services tax (GST) of 15%. Low-value goods include … Read more
A leaked email from a BP manager has exposed the tactics fuel retailers employ to increase prices at the pump. But do we all just pay too much anyway? Here’s ten numbers which show we’re paying a premium for petrol. 20 cents How can it be that petrol prices at the BP petrol station in … Read more
Provisional tax has long been contentious and complained about by small business owners. A new cloud-based system has been launched to pay it, but tax consultant Terry Baucher says it could be grounded by the same old problems. A new tax year started on April 1 and with it came a much-touted new option for … Read more
No one likes the tax man. Not even his mum. But Dany Miller-Kareko is the modern face of the IRD, who’s out to convince Kiwis she’s here to help. James Borrowdale followed her around Auckland while she tried. If there was one place to prove that old adage wrong – the one about about the … Read more
Even if you admire the ends, the who and what of tax is pretty loathsome, argues Danyl Mclachlan. Last week was tax week at the Spinoff. It celebrated companies that pay tax, interviewed Sir Michael Cullen, argued that tax is love and that we should stop talking about it as a burden, and gave a … Read more
She thought about walking away from tax, but couldn’t. Maria Slade finds Westpac’s tax guru Jo Sawden does it for the love of it. Jo Sawden loves tax. Accountancy’s most arcane branch certainly isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time, but for the head of tax at New Zealand’s third largest corporate taxpayer it is … Read more
The former deputy prime minister and chair of Labour’s tax working group talks to Duncan Greive about housing, tax, Bill English and Labour’s big 2017 campaign mistake. Whatever room he’s in, Sir Michael Cullen gravitates toward the centre. This is less about his gravitas, which remains strong nearly a decade after he left parliament, but … Read more
The rhetoric over the past decade or so has painted tax as a ‘burden’ from which we need ‘relief’. But PSA national secretary Erin Polaczuk argues that tax isn’t a burden nor a necessary evil, but something paid by Kiwis, for Kiwis. The Spinoff is hosting Tax Heroes – a series covering tax, who pays … Read more
Last week The Spinoff’s managing editor published an op-ed celebrating the nation-building value of taxation. Act leader David Seymour was unimpressed. Very, very unimpressed The Spinoff is hosting Tax Heroes – a series covering tax, who pays it and what it means. Click here to read more. Duncan Greive’s article Tax Heroes: Forget the rich … Read more
If tax is love then New Zealand needs to show a lot more affection, writes Max Harris. The Spinoff is hosting Tax Heroes – a series covering tax, who pays it and what it means. Click here to read more. Love is a deep warmth that we direct towards other things. It’s a value we … Read more
New Zealand is one of the most profitable credit card markets in the world, one that’s dominated by Visa and Mastercard. Both companies benefit from sweetheart tax deals from being based in Singapore, but with increased scrutiny on international tech behemoths over their tax records, is it time for us to take a closer look … Read more
Tax Heroes: It has paid billions in tax since 2003, but the NZ Super Fund’s head of tax John Payne says it sees tax as simply a return to the government. The New Zealand Super Fund was set up in 2003 to help pre-fund the future cost of universal superannuation in New Zealand, and it … Read more
No capital gains tax no problem? Not exactly – Tax Heroes has uncovered our biggest property players pay a much lower tax rate, Maria Slade reports. Whether New Zealand should introduce a capital gains tax is set to be almost as hot a topic in Labour’s first term as the prime minister’s pregnancy. While debate … Read more
Tax Heroes: We always hear about who is not paying tax, but who pays the most hasn’t been measured – until now. Maria Slade talks to the two Auckland professors behind the numbers of Tax Heroes. In the days of former prime minister Rob Muldoon you couldn’t get a first class flight out of the … Read more
The Spinoff Cheat Sheet: a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, what is the Tax Working Group anyway – and what is it up to? The Spinoff is hosting Tax Heroes – a series covering tax, who pays it and what it means. Click here to read more. Before all … Read more
Tax, tax, lovely tax. We all pay it, in one way or another, and we rely on it to pay for things like schools, healthcare and roading – our tax does some wonderful things. Here are ten tax numbers you need to know. The Spinoff is hosting Tax Heroes – a series covering tax, who … Read more