Mail Post Types: IRD Business

Inland Revenue has updated its guidance on the tax treatment of cryptoassets in New Zealand. Crypto-assets are also known as cryptocurrencies or virtual currencies. Spokesperson Tony Morris says Inland Revenue is doing the refresh to provide some certainty for taxpayers with cryptoassets. “People can buy, sell, and exchange cryptoassets; provide goods or services in exchange for them; mine cryptoassets; and earn staking rewards (or “crypto interest”) among other things,” Tony…  Read more

Inland Revenue says new measures to ensure large multinationals pay the right tax in New Zealand are working well and should mean an extra $200m in tax collected each year. The Taxation (Neutralising Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) Act 2018 made a series of changes to New Zealand’s international tax rules as a response to the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Project Shifting (BEPS) project. Inland Revenue’s International Revenue Strategy Manager…  Read more

Inland Revenue compliance staff have searched several Central Otago businesses and made unannounced visits to others, as part of its current hidden economy campaign targeting the hospitality sector. Café, restaurants, bars and takeaways are the focus of the renewed campaign which follows the successful prosecution of five siblings in the Thai House case. Inland Revenue spokesman Richard Philp says the recent visits to Queenstown businesses have confirmed the sector has…  Read more

Overseas businesses selling goods valued at a thousand dollars or less to New Zealand consumers are urged to register for GST ahead of a 1 December deadline. The Government is introducing an offshore supplier registration system that requires overseas businesses to collect GST on low-value goods sold to New Zealand consumers at the point of sale. These businesses may need to register for, collect and return GST of 15% from…  Read more

Inland Revenue is introducing a new way for customers to get certainty on how tax law applies to their situation. The process is shorter and cheaper than other binding rulings available from Inland Revenue. The short-process rulings service will be available from 1 October 2019 and is a way for individuals and organisations, with an annual gross income of $20 million or less, to get a binding ruling from Inland…  Read more

An Oamaru accountant is an enthusiastic advocate of Inland Revenue’s new provisional tax option, the Accounting Income Method (AIM). Adair Craik has more than 50 clients signed up for AIM, which requires small businesses to make provisional tax payments only when they’re making a profit. “I’m a keen supporter,” she says. “I’ve got retailers, manufacturers, panel beaters, moteliers, professional athletes and a hot rod restorer all using AIM and it’s…  Read more

Inland Revenue is extending its guidance on cryptocurrencies to cover their use in employee share schemes. This follows three other public rulings issued in June and July that detail the tax implications when crypto-assets are used to pay salary and wages, bonuses or when an employer issues its own crypto-assets and offers them to an employee. Public Rulings Director Susan Price says similiar to the other rulings, Inland Revenue is…  Read more

The recent court case between Inland Revenue and Mercury NZ Ltd is only the second time New Zealand courts have analysed the modern depreciation regime, introduced in 1993. The case was heard in the High Court at Auckland in June and centred on whether the turbines at Nga Awa Purua and Kawerau are buildings or not. IRD had said the turbines were buildings and therefore subject to a depreciation rate…  Read more

Revenue Minister Stuart Nash has announced his intention to introduce a legislative amendment to ensure that payments received by a land owner from the grant of a land right (such as a licence or a limited term easement) continue to be taxable. “Payments for the grant of a land right were always intended to be taxable income under current legislation. However doubts have been raised on the clarity of the…  Read more

Inland Revenue (IR) would like businesses not already filing their payroll information every payday, to seek the help they may need before IR calls them. While 90 percent of businesses are successfully meeting the new obligation, IR’s small business segment leader, Richard Owen says there’s a small minority who should have filed but haven’t or simply haven’t needed to file because they didn’t pay any staff in the past few…  Read more

The Government’s updated tax policy work programme continues the focus on productivity, growth and wellbeing outlined in Budget 2019, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. The tax policy work programme (TPWP) required an update following the release of the Tax Working Group (TWG) report in April. The TPWP was last produced in May 2018. “We are committed to the fundamental principles of a broad-based, low-rate system,” Mr Nash says. “The…  Read more

Inland Revenue has put out proposals for consultation to clarify and simplify the tax rules around employer-provided travel to distant workplaces – for example, a person who works in Wellington but lives in Auckland, or who may travel greater distances in working from home or at multiple workplaces. The proposals seek to make it easier to tell when this kind of employer-provided travel is exempt from income tax (PAYE) or…  Read more

Small businesses from around the country are enjoying a simpler approach to provisional tax – one which sees them only having to pay a bill when they’re making a profit. The Accounting Income Method or AIM is now into its second year. It’s currently provided through three accounting software providers as part of their package. That platform ensures AIM is tuned into a business’s real-time account information, which in turn…  Read more

Payday filing is less than a week away from becoming mandatory so Inland Revenue is making sure all New Zealand employers are set up and ready to go from April 1. This is when employers will be required to send their payroll information to Inland Revenue whenever they pay their staff. Inland Revenue Customer Segment Leader Richard Owen says the focus is firmly on helping employers get that first filing…  Read more

The new payday filing system works best for employers with payroll software and Inland Revenue has been working closely with the providers to make sure they’re well placed to meet their clients’ needs when it becomes mandatory in April. This is when all employers will be required to submit their employment information every time they pay their staff. Customer segment leader Richard Owen says a few software providers are already…  Read more