Hon Simon Watts
Minister of Revenue

Rebuilding the economy and improving fiscal sustainability is the key focus of the Government’s new Tax and Social Policy Work Programme for Inland Revenue, Revenue Minister Simon Watts says.

“New Zealand has been grappling with significant economic challenges over the last few years with many businesses and households feeling the impact.

“The Government made a promise to New Zealanders we would rebuild the economy and ease the cost of living, without taking more of their hard-earned money out of their back pockets. We are also working hard to restore the Government’s books so we can deliver better public services to New Zealanders.

“New Zealand’s tax system plays an important role in strengthening the economy and generating the revenue needed to support the country. In these challenging times, it's important to position the tax system in a way that raises necessary funds.

“The Tax and Social Policy Work Programme will rebuild the economy and improve fiscal sustainability by looking into a range of policy issues that will simplify tax, reduce compliance costs, and address integrity risks.”

The work programme has six strategic workstreams. These include:

• Economic growth and productivity
• Integrity of the tax system
• Modernising the tax system
• Strengthening international connections
• Social policy; and
• Other agency work

“Policy focus will be working to find and remove the tax obligations which are obstacles to growth for businesses, for example by simplifying the tax rules for non-resident contractors,” Mr Watts says.

“Other issues we are addressing in our work programme include:

• supporting the transition to digital tax administration for tax intermediaries
• making it easier small businesses to stay compliant with tax laws
• considering whether the New Zealand Superannuation Fund should be exempt from paying income tax, which could free up more funds for retirement savings, and
• continuing to improve FamilyBoost to better support families with their early childcare costs.

“We want New Zealand to be a place where our businesses can grow, prosperity can flourish, overseas businesses want to invest, and talented people want to migrate to. Looking into these policies will help us get to that vision.”

The Government’s Tax and Social Policy Work Programme for Inland Revenue is available at https://www.taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/work-programme

© Scoop Media