MEDIA STATEMENT

For Immediate Release
13 March, 2013

Communications Agencies Join Anti Car Park Tax Group

The combined creative weight of around 100 advertising and media agencies represented by the Communications Agencies Association of New Zealand (CAANZ) has joined the FBT Action Group in opposing the Government’s proposal for a near 50% car park tax.

CAANZ has joined organisations such as Property Council New Zealand, the Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) and Tournament Parking in opposing a new tax on employer-provided car parks in Auckland and Wellington. The Unite Union is also a strong supporter of the campaign against the tax, citing concerns about potential impacts on the safety of late-night shift workers in the city.

CAANZ represents the advertising and media agencies of New Zealand with many of those creative agencies based in the Auckland and Wellington CBDs, close to their major clients.

“It’s the kind of campaign where I think our members would enjoy applying their combined creative talents to opposing what seems to be a petty and quite selective tax,” says CAANZ CEO Paul Head.

“A few years ago some of our members got very creative in successfully opposing Auckland Council proposals to ban billboards in downtown Auckland and this proposal seems like a similar irritant to the eco light bulb and weak showerhead ideas that were floated by the previous government.“

Mr Head said the association’s members were also deeply concerned about the compliance costs associated with the proposed car park tax as well as the additional cost of the tax.

“Most of our members are in small to medium size businesses and one or our members did a back of the envelope calculation that immediately added $30,000 per year to his compliance costs. The idea of having to work out where every employee is parking, and why, is ridiculous. Add that to another ridiculous proposal to track and tax cell phone and computer use and you’d have to wonder what a supposedly more business friendly government is thinking.”

The FBT Action Group was launched this week to oppose proposals by Revenue Minister Peter Dunne to extend the fringe benefit tax to include car parks in Wellington and Auckland city but not to other centres.

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