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Finance Minister Bill English and Revenue Minister Peter Dunne have welcomed the Australian Government’s announcement today that it has completed legislative steps to allow New Zealanders to transfer their retirement savings between complying Australian superannuation schemes and KiwiSaver.

The new arrangements take effect from 1 July, 2013.

Two important changes to increase KiwiSaver contributions take effect from 1 April, which will help to encourage a higher level of private savings among New Zealanders, Finance Minister Bill English and Revenue Minister Peter Dunne say.

From next Monday, the minimum employee contribution rate will rise from 2 per cent to 3 per cent. At the same time, compulsory employer contributions will also rise from 2 per cent to 3 per cent.

The Government will not continue with a proposal which would have changed the way some employer-paid carparks in central Auckland and Wellington are treated for tax purposes, Finance Minister Bill English and Revenue Minister Peter Dunne say.

“The proposal was made as a matter of fairness, because in general we consider that cash and non-cash benefits should be taxed the same way,” Mr English says.

The Government has tightened livestock tax rules to prevent farmers who change valuation schemes receiving an unintended tax break, Finance Minister Bill English and Revenue Minister Peter Dunne announced today.

Ministers said the current rules were too loose and allowed some farmers switching between the two main livestock valuation methods to receive an unfair tax advantage over those farmers who applied the rules as they were intended.