Yearly Archives 2013
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Tax Breaks Granted for Avatar Films
December 20, 2013
New Zealand Taxation -
James Cameron’s Avatar movies are coming to New Zealand, after the government signed off on an incentive package featuring tax breaks, documentaries and red-carpet events. Earlier this week, in a joint announcement, the Prime Minister John Key and the international film director James Cameron confirmed that the next three Avatar movies will be filmed in New Zealand, and the production would qualify for a tax rebate of 25 percent.
The rebate is granted is part of the Large Budget Screen Production Grant and the Post, Digital and Visual Effects Grant, aimed at drawing high-level productions into the country and boosting the national film industry.
The rebate rate was originally set at 15 percent, but has been increased to 20 percent, with the extra 5 percent coming from a discretionary re...
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Asset Sales Fund Tax Cuts
December 3, 2013
New Zealand Finance, New Zealand Taxation -
The Green Party is claiming that the national assets sales are a means of funding tax cuts for the highest-earners in the country.In a press release issued on December 2nd the Green Party has claimed that the revenues raised in the recent sale of national assets has yielded less revenue than the tax cuts provided to top earners over the last few years.
According to the Green Party, since 2009 and 2010 when the top marginal tax was cut from 39 percent to 38 percent, and from 38 percent to 33 percent respectively, the cumulative reduction in tax collections from the top 10 percent of earners is nearly NZD 4.5 billion.
Conversely, the projected revenues from the sale of government-owned assets is expected to only reach NZD 3.9 billion.
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In the statement the Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel No... -
Local Firms Squeezed Out of IRD Upgrade
October 9, 2013
New Zealand Finance -
Claims are arising that no New Zealand firms will be eligible to participate in the upgrade of the IRD tech systems. Over the course of October 8th several groups came forward to claim that the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department has effectively shut out any local firms from participating in the upcoming upgrade of the Department’s technology infrastructures.
The disapproval, which came from the Green party, the Labour Party, and the Institute of Information Technology Professionals.
Each group claimed that the IRD will only accept proposals and tenders bidders who have previously participated in projects valued at more than NZD 100 million, and from groups who have participated in large-scale projects with national tax authorities.
The steep requirements are claimed to be prohibitive ...
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IRD Accept Upgrade Bids
October 7, 2013
New Zealand Finance -
The IRD is making tangible steps towards an extensive upgrade of its IT and processing systems.Last week the Inland Revenue Department announced that it will soon begin accepting expressions of interest from external parties regarding the upcoming upgrade of the Department’s internal technology systems.
The expression of interests will be accepted via the Government Electronic Tenders Service, and will be for technical work on the initial phases of the IRD’s system transformation, along with “high level design for the future phases of the programme.“
According to the Commissioner of the IRD Naomi Ferguson, the upgrade is intended to help New Zealanders to”…t simpler and faster for New Zealanders to pay their taxes on time, to receive their entitlements, and reduces the costs of compli...
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