A recent TRA case (10/2013 (2013) NZTRA 10) has once again highlighted the issues surrounding tax residency, how subjective the rules are and the costs of getting it wrong. The case surrounded a taxpayer who had been in the NZ Army for over 25 years, working in both NZ and overseas. After leaving the Army […]

That is the Question… On Thursday 27th February 2014, the Taxation (Annual Rates, Foreign Superannuation, and Remedial Matters) Bill received Royal Assent, the final part of the process that brings a new piece of legislation into effect. While also confirming the tax rates for the coming 2015 tax year, a prime focus of the Bill […]

Changes to the Inland Revenue payment service at Westpac Memorandum 2 May 2014 To: Tax Agents From: Dave Gillespie, Payments Project Sponsor, Inland Revenue Purpose: This memorandum provides information on changes to the way customers can make and receive payments to and from Inland Revenue. From 1 October 2014 customers will no longer be able […]

The Tax Administration (Financial Statements) Order 2014 (the Order) was signed on 10th March 2014, bringing into effect major changes to the financial reporting requirements for small to medium businesses (SME’s). Effective for income years commencing on or after 1 April 2014, financial statements prepared by SME’s (revenue less than $30 million) will no longer […]

While many are referring to the recently released Australian budget as the “Black Budget”, not so for our own issued by Bill English yesterday (15th May 2014). The Budget in itself was fairly tame, not surprising considering it is an election year. And being an election year, there was of course a sly mention that […]

The enactment of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Act 2014 on 30th June 2014, introduced changes to the tax rules that deal with the taxation of employer-provided accommodation, accommodation payments, and other allowances and payments made by employers to cover employee expenditure. The new rules will generally apply from 1 April […]

The Inland Revenue issued its latest Revenue Alert on 22nd May 2014 (RA 14/01) which identifies possible issues surrounding the legitimacy of donation tax credits being claimed by certain taxpayers. The focus is primarily on payments made to private education centres although the general concepts outlined in the Alert are applicable to any payment claimed […]

The IRD recently published their Compliance Focus for 2013, aimed at assisting taxpayers and voluntary compliance by identifying areas that the Revenue regularly sees as having high potential for taxpayer error. The material is published on the IRD website and for small to medium businesses outlines ten key areas of focus. One of the identified […]

Doing Business in Australia; Seminar Success This seminar was a great event for anyone already working in or thinking of doing business in Australia. Gilligan Sheppard and the Chamber of Commerce joined forces to bring two prominent Australian tax advisers to New Zealand. Many New Zealand businesses look toward Australia to expand their business. This […]

From 1 July 2013, new rules surrounding the portability of retirement savings will come into effect. Under the new regime, certain Australian superannuation funds and New Zealand KiwiSaver funds will be able to be transferred between countries, effectively enabling a person to “take home” any contributions they have made to an approved retirement scheme while […]