The New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (IRD) will be in the Court of Appeals this week in an effort to overturn a landmark court decision, which found tax evasion allegations against two medical professionals refuted. In a court action that will be closely monitored by both the medical profession and other high-cost professionals the IRD is seeking to claim that two Christchurch based orthopedic surgeons were using company and trust structures to pay themselves less than the typical rate for their profession. The ... Read More

The New Zealand Crown accounts for the five months to November 30th saw a marginal improvement over earlier estimates, following a better than expected New Zealand Super Fund, ACC and EQC investment performance. According to a New Zealand Government press release, published on January 29th, the Crown’s operating deficit before gains and losses for the time period was NZD3.7 billion. The figure is NZD700 million better than previously forecast in the 2009 Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. The operating deficits including gains ... Read More

Bill English, the New Zealand Minister of Finance, has announced that two new directorship appointments have been made to the board of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Neil Quigley, a Victoria University Professor of Economics, and Kerrin Vautier, an Auckland-based consulting research economist, were announced to have received the positions on January 19th. The two new appointees replace Alison Paterson and Sir John Goulter, who have served fifteen and ten years respectively in the positions. According to Bill English, the Government was seeking ... Read More