TAX SERVICES

Controlled foreign companies (CFCs) are companies based overseas but controlled by New Zealand residents. They must not be a tax resident in New Zealand, or if a New Zealand tax resident, they must then be treated as a foreign company via the application of a relevant double tax treaty agreement. A company may be a tax resident in New Zealand if it is incorporated in New Zealand, has its head office in New Zealand, its centre of management is in New Zealand, or directorship control is exercised from New Zealand…

The Covid-19 pandemic is causing governments around the world to rapidly respond in order to provide economic relief to businesses and individuals. Our Government has to date, introduced a range of stimulus packages to assist businesses through the crisis, such as, the Wage Subsidy Scheme, the Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme (SBCS) and a series of tax relief measures for small businesses and individuals…

International businesses are increasingly affected by tax, legislative and regulatory developments throughout the world. Understanding the impact of business operations and transactions between countries is vital for success. Some common types of income include…

Entertaining current and potential clients is part of an integral part of doing business. These client breakfasts, lunches or dinners create opportunities to get to know each other on a more personal level while still having a business meeting as usual. Business owners not only need to show they are knowledgeable about their business, but also be able to connect with their clients at both personal and business level, showing genuine interests in your clients’ needs…

Business expenses may be deductible or non-deductible. When deductible, they reduce your taxable income and the amount of tax to pay. Therefore, the more you can claim, the less tax you have to pay. As business owners, you need to maintain good records of your business expenses (and income obviously) and therefore, understanding what types of costs count as business expenses become extremely important.

The FIF tax rules that were introduced for the years beginning on or after 1 April 2007 aimed to encourage savings by low and middle income earners and to remove inconsistencies in the old rules which overtaxed some investors using New Zealand-based managed funds, were biased in favour of direct investment in offshore shares, and favoured investment in certain countries over others…

A fringe benefit is a non-cash benefit your business provide to your employees or an associate of the employees. Most non-cash benefits given to employees other than their salary or wages are fringe benefits. This is different to when you pay money to employees. Where you pay cash to employees, you treat the payment as part of the employee’s salary or wage and make normal employee deductions, such as PAYE…

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a tax of 15% (in New Zealand) added to the price of most goods and services, including imports. Most things you buy have GST added to the price. You pay the GST to the seller and they pass it on to Inland Revenue Department. Some things you buy do not have GST added to the price. Some common examples are…

If you’re a business owner and use part of your family home for work, you can make a claim for this as a business expense. You can claim a portion of your household expenses, such as rates, insurance, power and mortgage interest. The portion you can claim relates to the area of your home that you use for business…

International tax covers a wide range of tax services. Structure your business operations from a tax perspective to ensure you comply with local rules of the countries in which you operate. Tax authorities around the world are undergoing the biggest changes they ever have, becoming increasingly vigilant and bettering communications between countries. We offer compliance and reporting services. As businesses expand operations into new markets the complexity of managing tax risks and complying with reporting requirements multiplies…

Too often we have seen how any tax debt can become quickly overwhelming if it is not managed properly. For those who attempt to stick their head in the sand in the hope that the problem will magically disappear (which unfortunately happens more often than you may think), the consequent penalties and use-of-money interest (UOMI) charges can double the size of a debt in a short amount of time…

IRD reviews and audits can become very time consuming and expensive, particularly in cases where the person under review perhaps cannot provide all the information requested, or responds to a certain question in a way which creates confusion or suspicion in the mind of the IRD officer – remember the old saying, first impressions count. Often the initial communication from IRD will request large…

Are you considering moving offshore, or alternatively coming to New Zealand (NZ), and would like to know more about how your changes in circumstances may affect your present tax residency status, and/or tax filing obligations?  Then rest assured, our tax team is suitably qualified to advise you on all aspects of tax residency…

When considering what amounts to the private use of the asset, the definition includes such use by the person that owns the asset or by an associated person of theirs. Private use also arises if the mixed-use asset is used by a person (whether the owner, an associate or not) when income derived from the use of the asset is less than 80% of the normal market value consideration…

If you’re buying residential property, make sure you know what your tax obligations may be when you come to sell the property. There are various items to consider when buying and/or selling: Your history of buying and selling counts (is there a pattern forming?), the intention rule (did you buy with a resale intent?)….

Are you considering subdivisions or development of your land, and are wanting to understand the taxation implications of doing so, both from an income tax perspective and GST perspective? If the answer is yes, then we can assist you in understanding the intricacies of the land taxing provisions…

We provide a question-and-answer advisory service to other accounting firms who either may not have their own internal taxation resource, or they do, but are just looking for that second opinion. Our goal is to provide an answer to all questions within 24 hours…

Our tax partner, Richard Ashby, leads the GS tax team and he has over 30 years’ experience in dealing with New Zealand taxation issues, including a number of years he worked at the Inland Revenue, where he spent time within the investigations unit.  Trying to interpret tax laws and thereby determine their application to your situation, can be as challenging as trying…

At Gilligan Sheppard, we can review your tax residency status for you, provide an opinion in this regard and then advise you of your New Zealand income tax obligations as applicable. The issue applies not only to people looking to come to New Zealand for a period, but equally to those looking to go overseas, particularly on an employment secondment or the traditional ‘overseas experience’ (OE)…

We aim to help companies manage risks associated with an Inland Revenue transfer pricing audit, by providing advice surrounding the use of appropriate transfer pricing methodologies, tailored to your specific business. We can also assist with the preparation of appropriate Transfer Pricing Documentation, one of the first things Inland Revenue will request should they decide to conduct a review on your cross-border transactions…