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In December 2020, the NZ Government passed legislation to implement a new personal tax rate of 39% for those with personal incomes above $180,000. This new rate comes into effect from 1 April 2021 (the 2021-2022 income year). What You Should Know As with any changes in tax, there are knock-on effects that you should know about. These include: New Fringe Benefit Tax rate of 63.93% for all-inclusive pay of…  Read more

The End Of Financial Year is always such a busy time with a LOT to think about as a business owner.   We have share some important things for to consider as a reminder: Dividends (Companies) If you have a Limited Liability Company and there are retained earnings in the Company, you may want to look at paying out a dividend this year (prior to the potential personal tax rate increase). …  Read more

This week the Government has announced proposed changes for residential property acquired on or after 27 March 2021. The proposed changes include: extending the bright-line test to 10 years amending the main home exclusion which would require tax to be paid on gains made for periods the property is not used as the owners main home allowing newly built homes to use a 5 year bright-line test not allowing property…  Read more

Another end of Financial Year is looming up fast! And what a crazy year it has been. There are quite a few different updates that are due to rollout on 1st April, so we have summarized them here for you:   Minimum Wage Increase: From the 1st April 2021, the minimum wage hourly rates will increase to: Adult: $20.00 Starting out/training wage: $16.00   This will effect quite a lot…  Read more

Fixed Assets On 17th March 2020, the government announced that for one year, any assets purchased for a business under $5,000 (exc GST) can be expensed in the year it is purchased.  This means the full cost of that asset can be claimed as a deductible expense in that period. As this was only a short term adjustment, this is due to finish on 16th March 2021 (yes next week)…  Read more

This year, Waitangi Day falls on Saturday 6 February and is observed on that day or Monday 8 February. Here is what you need to know about rights for employees and obligations for employers. Mondayisation for Waitangi Day This year, Waitangi Day falls on a Saturday. This means the holiday is moved to the following Monday, which is Monday 8 February. Requirement to work on Waitangi Day If your employee…  Read more

Sometimes, an employee doesn’t have enough leave available to take paid leave when time off work is required for what would normally be a work day. As am employer, you can agree to the time off and not pay them for this time. This is usually called Leave Without Pay or LWOP. Leave without pay doesn’t end an employee’s agreement or change it, however, did you know that leave without…  Read more

While we are all planning our next steps as we rebuild our businesses, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) have begun the mammoth task of auditing certain applications made under the wage subsidy scheme. This is an action that was signalled from very early on in the scheme. While the swift move into audit phase may seem harsh, the statistics that emerged regarding fraudulent claims on hardship grants after the…  Read more

From 1 July 2020, the duration of parental leave payments will extend from 22 weeks to 26 weeks and the maximum weekly rate for eligible parents will increase from $585.80 to $606.46 gross. The minimum payment rate for self-employed parents increases from $177.00 to $189.00 gross per week, which is equal to 10 hours of the current adult minimum wage. The number of ‘Keeping in Touch’ days will also increase…  Read more

Have you received the latest update from Inland Revenue with ways you can now pay your tax? Read on to find out more… No more cheques – pay online instead From 1 March 2020 IRD will stop accepting payment by cheque, including cheques dated after 1 March. The safest and quickest ways for you to pay tax is online – either in myIR or through your bank. For more information on…  Read more

As Christmas draws closer, here’s a quick list of five things as an employer you should be aware of when it comes to minimum legal employment rights. 1. Is closing down a workplace at Christmas legal? Yes. An Employer may close down a workplace if the processed is managed lawfully. Employees must be given at least 14 days’ notice of the closedown. An employer may have a regular closedown once…  Read more

IRD is looking hard at tax crime in the building sector – are you declaring all your income? Have you had a customer ask for a cash discount? You know – so it doesn’t “cost as much” because it doesn’t have to go through the books. Who really pays for that discount? Tradies around the country who do undeclared cash jobs, discounted for their mates or simply to give the…  Read more

So you’re ready to hire your first employee, congratulations! You’ve had subbies working for you for years, so what’s the big deal? Most tradies will one day find themselves in the position that they’ve got a good crew of guys who do an awesome job and they want to keep them happy. This awesome crew might still subcontract back to the head contractor (the business owner), which is always a…  Read more

The minimum adult wage is set to increase by $1.20 per hour in April. Are you prepared?

I’m making sales, woo hoo! Now what? We often are asked, “When should I register for GST?” It’s good to know that you don’t have to register for GST just because you start trading and selling goods and/or services. You do however have to register for GST if you carry out a taxable activity, and: Your turnover was $60,000 or more in the last 12 months or will be $60,000…  Read more

Accountants and Bookkeepers fall under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Finance Terrorism legislation as of 1 October 2018 which means more compliance activities are going to be required when agreeing to work together. The requirement is to verify identities of those we work with, so don’t be alarmed if the process of working with an organisation who falls under the Act (Accountants, Bookkeepers, Banks, Real Estate Agents, Lawyers etc) becomes a…  Read more

From time to time, the terms under which you have employed a team member originally may change. This could be as simple as giving them a payrise, or slightly more complicated such as changing from a permanent full time agreement to a casual basis. It’s important to document each change in writing to ensure you, and your employee, remain on the same page and understand the expectations of the employment…  Read more

The Domestic Violence – Victims Protection Bill has passed its third reading in Parliament. It aims to enhance legal protections in the workplace for people affected by domestic violence. The changes will come into effect on 1 April 2019. The new law entitles employees affected by domestic violence to up to 10 days of paid domestic violence leave per year, in order to deal with the effects of domestic violence.…  Read more

Auckland builders Juno Homes and EXP fined for serious employment breach Two Auckland building companies have been fined $7,500 for employment law breaches, as they failed to keep employment records or ensure workers were paid correct holiday pay. The firms then also failed to comply with a notice to fix issues that the Labour Inspectorate sent them in March 2017. Good employment relationships start with a good recruitment process so…  Read more

Bunnings NZ have announced it will back pay staff $11 million as part of its efforts to comply with the Holidays Act 2003. Paying employees annual leave (or holiday pay) can sometimes be a confusing business, especially when the Holiday Act can be challenging to even understand in the first place. There’s been a number of businesses recently in the media who have been subject to a 2016 government report…  Read more