Inland Revenue - Tax policy Tax Policy

News and information about the Government's tax policy work programme, including:
- proposed changes to the laws that Inland Revenue is responsible for
- updates on the progress of bills through Parliament
- policy announcements

Tax policy news

26 June 2020
New tax measures announced

A Supplementary Order Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2020–21, Feasibility Expenditure, and Remedial Matters) Bill contains two measures proposed by the Government. These are:

- Amendments to simplify the administration of unclaimed money, and
- Adjustments to the threshold for an automatic write-off of tax owing for individuals.

For more information on these, see the Minister's media statement,* SOP, disclosure statement, the accompanying commentary and the regulatory impact assessment.

19 June 2020
Guidance on recent COVID-19 tax legislation is now available

Guidance on recent COVID-19-related legislation is now available. It covers the loss carry-back scheme, administrative flexibility for Inland Revenue, the Small Business Cashflow Scheme, and the tax treatment of payments to New Zealanders stranded overseas.

The changes were included in the COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Other Regulatory Urgent Measures) Act 2020 (enacted on 30 April 2020) and the COVID-19 Response (Further Management Measures) Legislation Act 2020 (enacted on 15 May 2020).

The guidance will be published in the August 2020 edition of the Tax Information Bulletin.

12 June 2020
Tax write-off threshold increased

In response to the current economic downturn, the Government has legislated for a temporary increase to the write-off threshold for tax to pay, from $50 to $200. This applies for the 2019-2020 income tax year only and is available for individuals whose end of year tax liability is calculated by Inland Revenue’s automatic system. The Minister of Revenue’s media statement has more information.

4 June 2020
Omnibus tax bill introduced

The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2020–21, Feasibility Expenditure, and Remedial Matters) Bill was introduced into Parliament today by the Minister of Revenue, Hon Stuart Nash.

For more information see the Minister of Revenue’s media statement, the Bill, the Bill commentary, the departmental disclosure statement, and the regulatory impact assessments.

29 May 2020
In-work tax credit grace period

The Government has announced a proposed change to the In-Work Tax Credit as part of the Covid-19 Response Recovery Fund.

The proposal is to allow a family currently receiving the in-work tax credit to continue receiving the payments for up to two weeks when taking an unpaid break from work. Payments will stop if they go on a benefit. Draft legislation containing the proposal is expected to be introduced soon and intended to take effect from 1 April 2021.

Tax Working Group

For the terms of reference, news, reports, and other information see the Tax Working Group's website.

Information releases

We now proactively release Cabinet papers, minutes and supporting papers for tax policy related decisions. View the latest information releases.

Highlights

KiwiSaver Bill enacted

The Taxation (KiwiSaver, Student Loans, and...

COVID-19 tax bill enacted

The COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill passed through all...