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Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Judith Collins have today announced the Government’s final decisions on proposals to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

“The new measures will significantly strengthen our tax rules and our ability to ensure that multinationals are taxed fairly and on the basis of their actual level of economic activity in New Zealand,” Mr Joyce says.

In combination the new measures will:

The Government is planning major changes to how IRD pays social support so that people can know better what their entitlements are and be sure of receiving the right amount, Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Judith Collins say.

“The Working for Families system is very complex and has been since it was introduced,” Mr Joyce says. “More than 40 per cent of people receiving Working for Families are underpaid, while a quarter of all people get paid too much and end up owing money to Inland Revenue.”

The Government is proposing to make tax simpler for individuals, with people whose only income is from a salary, wages or investments no longer being required to file tax returns to receive tax refunds or to calculate any additional tax.

The consultation document, Better administration of individuals’ income tax, was released today by Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Judith Collins.

Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Judith Collins have released three consultation papers proposing new measures to strengthen New Zealand’s rules for taxing large multinationals.

“Our broad-based low rate tax system continues to perform very well for New Zealand overall,” Mr Joyce says. “However it’s important that it keeps evolving to ensure that all companies operating in New Zealand pay their fair share of tax.”

The Government is acting on all recommendations from the Shewan Inquiry into foreign trust disclosure rules, Finance Minister Bill English and Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse announced today.

The Inquiry made a number of recommendations which propose improvements to registration and disclosure of information, anti-money laundering rules and increased information sharing between government agencies.

“The Government has always been open to making improvements to New Zealand’s already strong tax settings if that was warranted,” Mr English says.

The Government today released tax expert John Shewan’s independent Inquiry into Foreign Trust Disclosure Rules, and the steps it is taking to strengthen tax rules as part of its work with the OECD to clamp down on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

Mr Shewan’s inquiry noted that foreign trusts are legitimate vehicles and that New Zealand’s tax treatment of foreign trusts is appropriate. However, it also recommends disclosure arrangements should be strengthened, including by:

An SME-friendly tax package announced by the Prime Minister today will reduce compliance costs and make tax simpler for small businesses, Finance Minister Bill English and Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse say.

“The package will make paying tax easier and more certain, reduce the burden of interest and penalties, and help small businesses tailor payments to their circumstances,” Mr English says.

“We want the tax system to fit in with how businesses operate, not the other way around.”

Key measures in the proposal are that:

Cabinet today agreed to appoint highly regarded tax expert John Shewan to conduct an independent review of disclosure rules covering foreign trusts registered in New Zealand, Ministers Bill English and Michael Woodhouse say.

“Ministers decided that in light of the ‘Panama Papers’ being released last week, it’s worth looking at whether the disclosure rules are fit for purpose and whether there are practical improvements we can make,” Mr English says.

The OECD last night released its final package of actions to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The Minister of Finance Bill English, and Minister of Revenue, Todd McClay say that the plan, representing two years of intensive work by the OECD and G20 nations will be a significant step forward in the fight against BEPS.

“BEPS behaviours can result in multinationals paying little or no tax anywhere in the world, so this announcement is a big step forward and the culmination of over two years’ work by the international community” Mr English says.

The number of KiwiSaver enrolments continues to rise in the over-18 year old target population, with an additional 11,656 members in the month of June, Finance Minister Bill English and Revenue Minister Todd McClay say.

“Removing the taxpayer-funded kick-start incentive in Budget 2015 was not expected to affect the number of working-age people joining a KiwiSaver scheme,” Mr English says.

The Government is taking extra steps to bolster the tax rules on property transactions – including those by overseas buyers - and to help Inland Revenue enforce them, Finance Minister Bill English and Revenue Minister Todd McClay say.

The tax measures are also expected to take some of the heat out of Auckland’s housing market and sit alongside the Reserve Bank’s latest moves to address associated financial stability issues, Mr English says.