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Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced two new appointments to the WorkSafe New Zealand Board.

Stephen Reindler and Nikki Davies-Colley will join the board from 16 December for three year terms.

 “These appointments bring to the Board strong governance skills and experience in sectors which WorkSafe is particularly focused on,” Mr Woodhouse says.

A new information sharing agreement between Inland Revenue and the Australian Tax Office has led to the contact details of almost 57,000 student loan borrowers being located across the Tasman, two thirds of whom are in default.

The agreement came into force in October and the details of around 10,000 New Zealanders were found in the first data match. The process has since been refined and a total of 56,897 people have now been located.

A change made to tax rules will provide businesses with faster access to GST refunds from February next year, says Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse.

The Tax Administration (Direct Credit of GST Refunds) Order 2016 will make it compulsory for Inland Revenue to provide GST refunds by direct credit to a taxpayer’s identified account, resulting in much faster GST refunds.

Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse today released proposals to simplify and modernise the Tax Administration Act (TAA), as part of the Government’s major transformation of the revenue system.

“The Government is committed to ensuring our tax administration is fit for purpose and meets the needs of modern New Zealand,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse says changes to the migrant investor policy will encourage investments that provide greater economic benefits for New Zealand.

“There’s no doubt the Migrant Investor categories are performing well with $2.9 billion invested since they were launched in July 2009 and a further $2.1 billion in funds committed,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“However, around two thirds of investment is currently placed in bonds and the government believes there is an opportunity to rebalance this towards growth-oriented investments.

Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse today welcomed the release of the OECD’s new multilateral instrument – the latest step in the global fight against base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

“Many BEPS techniques rely on abuse of tax treaties, and the OECD/G20 BEPS Project has recommended a number of changes to further strengthen tax treaties multilaterally,” Mr Woodhouse says.

The Government will update the Equal Pay Act and amend the Employment Relations Act to implement recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity.

This will make it easier for women to file pay equity claims with their employers, rather than having to go through the courts. It will also assist employers in addressing those claims.

“The Government has accepted the recommendations of the Joint Working Group, which set out principles for raising and resolving pay equity claims through bargaining,” State Services Minister Paula Bennett says.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced an increase in the number of seasonal workers who can come to New Zealand to work in the horticulture and viticulture industry under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.

The current cap will be increased by 1,000 from 9,500 to 10,500 RSE workers for the 2016-17 season.

Mr Woodhouse says the horticulture and viticulture industry is New Zealand’s fourth largest export industry, producing almost $5 billion in exports.

Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced tax measures to help those affected by the Kaikoura earthquakes.

“This is a difficult time for many in the Kaikoura region and those affected by the earthquakes should be looking after themselves and their families first and foremost, rather than worrying about not meeting their tax obligations,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“Following an Order in Council this morning, Inland Revenue will waive use of money interest when a person is prevented from paying on time as a result of the recent earthquakes.

Eligibility for housing assistance and student allowances could be established more accurately under information sharing proposals released for public consultation today by Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse.

Information sharing already exists between IRD and MSD, but the Government is proposing to group the various current information sharing agreements into one.

The proposals also extend the use of information to enable MSD to:

Thank you for inviting me to give the opening address today.

Your organisation plays an influential role on New Zealand’s tax policy settings through your input into the work programme and through your submissions to public consultation so I value the opportunity to come and speak to you all. 

Today I would like to share with you some of the main points contained in the recently updated tax policy work programme.

The work programme has been agreed to by Cabinet as the Government’s tax focus to the end of 2017. 

Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse and Small Business Minister Craig Foss today welcomed a survey showing small businesses are continuing to spend less time on tax compliance.

“Inland Revenue’s emphasis on providing customer-centric services that enable businesses to spend less time on compliance and more on growth is paying dividends,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Changes to tax laws will clarify that payments to foster carers for the care of children and young people cannot be treated as income and are not subject to income tax, say Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse.

Foster carers receive a care allowance from the government to help meet the needs of a child or young person such as board, personal items, pocket money, and additional reasonable costs.

The strong and growing New Zealand job market provides great opportunities to get more Kiwis into life-long careers, say Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse.

The Ministers announced the release today of the 2016 update of the ‘Building Skilled and Safe Workplaces’ chapter of the Business Growth Agenda, which contains 55 current and 12 new initiatives to build sustainable careers and grow productivity in New Zealand.

Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. This is my first address to you as Revenue Minister and it’s a great opportunity to meet some of the people who help implement government policies.

As the people who ensure that wages are paid correctly and on time, you are a very important group for the government and for the economy. A lot rides on you being able to do your jobs accurately and efficiently.

So I’d like to spend a bit of time today telling you about how the Government aims to help you in your important work.

An information exchange agreement with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has carried out its first match, locating 10,400 student loan borrowers living across the Tasman.

Inland Revenue last week sent an initial list of 104,000 names of New Zealand borrowers who are living overseas to the ATO. Those names matched with the contact details of 10,400 people living in Australia.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced the appointment of Len Cook as a new member of the Remuneration Authority (the Authority).

The Authority is responsible for setting the rates of pay and allowances for Members of Parliament, the Judiciary and local authority members.

Len Cook replaces Angela Foulkes who has performed her duties admirably as a member of the Authority for eleven years.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse has this morning expressed his condolences to the family and friends of Helen Kelly who lost her battle with cancer overnight.

“Helen was a passionate advocate for the rights of New Zealand workers,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“She championed the cause of making our workplaces healthier and safer, particularly in the wake of the Pike River Mine disaster.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced changes to the Government’s New Zealand Residence Programme (NZRP) for the next two years.

“Migrants make a valuable contribution to New Zealand both culturally and economically, and the Government periodically reviews all our immigration settings to make sure they are working as intended,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Tomorrow we celebrate 30 years of having a GST system that is world leading and simple to apply, says Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse

“For 30 years now, the basic concepts of GST have remained unchanged since its introduction, and have rightly seen New Zealand’s GST system held up around the world as a model for other nations,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“When our goods and services tax was introduced, it was marked by three revolutionary concepts:

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will partner with the Edmund Hillary Fellowship to bring innovation-based ventures to New Zealand, announced Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse.

“In April, the Government agreed to pilot a new Global Impact Visa (GIVs) in partnership with the private sector, to enable high-impact entrepreneurs, investors and start-up teams to launch global ventures from New Zealand,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse today signed a Working Holiday Scheme with Luxembourg during a meeting with the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn in Wellington.

“This is Luxembourg’s first Working Holiday Scheme and will allow up to 50 young people from New Zealand and Luxembourg to live and work in each other’s countries,” Mr Woodhouse says.

A strategy used by some large multinationals to shift profits overseas and minimise their New Zealand tax is the focus of international tax proposals released for consultation today, says Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse.

“A discussion document which proposes that New Zealand adopt the OECD recommendations on hybrid mismatch arrangements was today released for consultation,” says Mr Woodhouse.

“Our international tax rules are sound, but the Government considers that New Zealand’s rules on hybrids can be stronger.

A Bill that enables territorial authorities to decide whether shops in their district can trade on Easter Sunday has passed its third reading in Parliament this afternoon.

“The Shop Trading Hours Amendment Bill is a pragmatic and well-balanced Bill which provides choice for local communities on whether or not to allow shop trading on Easter Sunday while also improving protections to all shop employees,” Mr Woodhouse says.