The Inland Revenue have recently made some changes to the calculation for reimbursing employees (which can inlcude owners) of small businesses for vehicle costs relating to business travel. Details on the new rules can be found here In essence the rules have been expanded to cover more than 5,000 kilometres per annum. The new rate for up to 14,000 kilomteres per annum is 76 cents and after that it is… Read more
Record your log book easily utilising GPS technology. If you use a vehicle in your business that is not exclusively for business then you need to run a log book for 3 months every 3 years detailing your trips and what they are for so you work out what percentage of your travel is for business use. This percentage is then used to calculate the amount of expenses related to… Read more
Xero have released the long awaited Payroll functionality for the NZ version ready for use from 1 April 2015. Xero’s payroll functionality includes the standard features of payroll software in terms of calculating pays, managing leave etc but it also includes the ability for staff to login and view their leave balances, pay history and submit leave requests. As you would expect from Xero the User Interface looks nice and… Read more
Parental Tax Credit For babies born on or after 1 April 2015, the Government will increase the parental tax credit from $150 a week to $220 a week, and extend the payment period from eight weeks to ten weeks. How much you receive also depends on: your total family income before tax the number of dependent children in your care and how old they are the number of newborn children… Read more
New requirement for Companies From 1 May 2015 new registration requirements come into force for applications to incorporate a New Zealand Limited Liability company. All New Zealand incorporated companies must have at least one director who lives in New Zealand or who lives in Australia and is a director of an Australian incorporated company. Existing companies on the companies register will have 180 days to comply with these New Zealand… Read more
Employment Law Changes The government has made some major employment relations changes, effective from 6 March 2015. Changes target flexible working arrangements, rest and meal breaks, continuity of employment for vulnerable employees upon restructuring, the good faith provisions, collective bargaining, and how the Employment Relations Authority gives its determinations. Flexible working arrangements Up till now flexible working arrangements have only been available to caregivers who have been employed at their… Read more
IRD and ‘your cheque is in the mail’ From 1 October this year cheques must reach IRD by the due date for payment. Posting a cheque on the last day will be too late. IRD will accept post-dated cheques but won’t guarantee to not bank them early. If there are insufficient funds to pay the tax, that’s the taxpayer’s problem. IRD say they will endeavour to avoid banking early and… Read more
Welcome to the winter addition of Marks’ Musing It is that time of year when a number of you have been contacting the office to find out when you should bring in your books and records for us to prepare your financial accounts and tax returns. On the 1st of April, you should have received an email from us, requesting that you download and print the questionnaires from our web… Read more
Manual payments discontinuing. Changes to the Inland Revenue payment service at Westpac From 1 October 2014 you will no longer be able to make cheque payments or drop off returns or forms at a Westpac branch. You will be able to continue making cash and eftpos payments at Westpac. Customers can post cheque payments, returns and forms directly to Inland Revenue. You can continue to make payments using online banking, credit… Read more
Discussions with your bank getting it right to avoid any misunderstandings. Anything you say to a bank can be written down and used in evidence against you. Not by the bank so much as the Tax Department. It is not confidential from the IRD. Always imagine an officer of the department is listening to your every word. You have no control over the notes your bank manager makes of your… Read more