Many clubs or societies operate within our community, Scott Mason writes.
Investing in shares is a little like being at the races.
In October 2011, gift duty was abolished which meant that any amount of money could be given (or forgiven) to people/trusts for whom one has ''natural love and affection'' without paying gift duty.
As record property prices are recorded in some places (e.g. state houses selling for $2 million in Auckland), it is perhaps timely to remember that while NZ does not have a formal capital gains tax, profits on land can easily fall into the taxing net.
Let us reconsider the key principles underpinning when allowances paid to employees are either taxable (as remuneration) or tax free. This will become particularly relevant as the IRD's new view on accommodation allowances is applied.
This year has been interesting in many ways, more punctuated by case law and hardening of IRD positions than significant legislative change to the tax framework, although the significant delay of long-ago announced legislation will mean there are some law changes for us to manage.
New Zealanders have always had a passion for investing in land.
As we head into summer, it is timely to consider issues around holiday homes and their potential GST implications.
Although New Zealand taxation rules have been developed with a view to encourage innovative research and development, tax deductibility for such has traditionally been fraught with difficulties.
From April 1, 2008, individuals have been able to claim a rebate on all charitable or other public benefit gift in a tax year if they meet the requirements.
The Working For Families Tax Credit ("WFFTC") scheme has been in place for some years, but has over time been amended and tinkered with.
It is not often there is a tax case that can strike fear into the hearts of tax advisers and business owners alike, but the ongoing saga of Penny and Hooper has been one such case, especially given early suggestions that simply the use of company or trust structures could constitute tax avoidance in some circumstances.
It has been suggested that if something is said often enough, it becomes the truth/norm. This article is to offer an alternative view to a theory currently being espoused in many social and business settings around town.
United Kingdom pensions and OM-IP Investments are two matters that are about to become more important for many taxpayers/investors.
As we near the end of the first quarter for fringe benefit tax (FBT) purposes, it is timely to remind ourselves of the requirements that must be met if an employer intends to rely on the exemption from FBT for work-related vehicles.
In last week's budget, there were changes to the calculation of the Working For Families Tax Credit WFFTC, specifically around the threshold for abatement (reducing slightly to $35,000) and the increasing abatement rate (going from 20% to 25%).
The curtain has (mostly) fallen on the widely-used Loss Attributing Qualifying Company structure which was repealed from the end of the 2011 tax year (March 31, 2011, for most LAQCs).
As I sit here at my desk quietly fuming over the quantum of legislation released by the IRD/Government only weeks before Christmas, and the additional compliance requirements that will arise for our clients from the changes to the QC regime (or introduction of the Look Through Company regime) and Working for Families, and the forthcoming GST amendments, to name but a few, it is a good time to take a reality check.
Here in Otago we only felt a (significant) tremor on September 4 at 4.38am, but in Canterbury they felt the full impact of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake, and the damage that it and the many aftershocks that followed have left behind has yet to be quantified.
The week before last, the Government released the Taxation (GST and Remedial Matters) Bill, which seeks to bring into law some of the proposals outlined in the November 2009 discussion document entitled GST: Accounting for land and other high-value assets.