Hon Dr Michael Cullen
Minister of Revenue
MEDIA STATEMENT
Cullen announces tax policy work programme
The tax system needs to be better attuned to New Zealand's needs in a changing world economy, Revenue Minister Michael Cullen said today.
Achieving this is one of the aims of the Government's tax policy work programme over the next 18 months, Dr Cullen told a PricewaterhouseCoopers tax conference.
"We will be working to ensure that our investments offshore and within New Zealand are treated as similarly as possible for tax purposes. This work will include a review of our foreign investment fund rules on New Zealanders' investments overseas."
"Another main theme of the work programme is the coherent taxation of savings and the entities through which individuals invest and save. One of our aims here is to make the tax rules between different types of entities more consistent, and to look at whether the tax system creates disincentives to long-term savings."
"Tax simplification is also a major emphasis of the tax policy work programme. The tax system must be capable not only of raising the necessary revenue, but also of minimising compliance costs for New Zealand businesses that operate here and internationally."
"Part of our efforts in protecting the revenue base will be directed at tax avoidance, closing further loopholes in the law and putting the spotlight on specific tax avoidance schemes."
"The Government's tax policy work programme reflects the fact that the tax system has an important role to play in New Zealand continuing to be a quality player on the world stage." Dr Cullen said.
Contact: David Carrigan (tax advisor) 021 432 100 or Jim Gordon (IRD) 04 474 7135