One 14 March 2024, the government released draft legislation coming good on its promise to reduce the bright-line period to two years and repeal the interest limitation rules. The highlights are as follows:Bright-lineA two-year bright-line period will apply to all property where sale occurs on or after 1 July 2024.  The date that you enter into the agreement to ..read more

With the trust tax rate expected to increase from 33% to 39% on 1 April 2024, now is the time to consider declaring dividends for any companies owned by trusts. Declaring a dividend before 31 March 2024 means there will only be 5% “top-up” tax payable (i.e. the difference between the company tax rate of 28% and the current trust ..read more

Tax and legal professionals generally see what’s going on in the property and business landscape before it makes headlines. Our clients—property investors and businesspeople—provide us with front-row seats to what’s unfolding in the market. And I must say at time of writing in February 2024, it's not the best out there for many businesses and property sector people. Sales ..read more

This week the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announced their proposal to introduce debt-to-income (DTI) restrictions on home lending. What are the proposed DTI rules?Subject to feedback from the consultation process, which is currently underway, the plan is to initially set banks’ DTI restrictions as follows:20% of residential property lending to owner-occupiers with a DTI ratio greater than 6 ..read more

The Reserve Bank (RBNZ) surprised at their recent Official Cash Rate review on the 29th of November with their adoption of a relatively hawkish tone and the suggestion that we may not have seen the end to cash rate increases. They increased their own projection for the OCR for the seventh time over the last two years, although I suspect ..read more

Today (20 December 2023) the coalition government announced that the bright-line test will be reduced to two years from 1 July 2024. This is what Nicola Willis had to say:"Today I am announcing our immediate decision to bring the brightline test for residential property back to two years, effective from 1 July 2024. Removing this effective capital gains tax means ..read more

Over the last few years, landlords have faced a number of challenges that impact their ability to properly maintain their rental properties and meet their financial obligations. Like any other business owner, as a property investor it’s important that you adapt to market changes and keep a close eye on your outgoings versus your income.  In this blog, I ..read more

Solvency is a subject that can be challenging for our clients and can cause some distress when not understood correctly. This is not a very festive subject, but it's important to address it during these uncertain times we are currently going through.What is a solvent company versus an insolvent company?A solvent company is one that has the ability to ..read more

It’s that time of year when businesses look to reward their staff and clients by hosting Christmas parties, giving gifts, and paying bonuses.Some of these costs may be fully deductible, some may be 50% tax deductible, and others subject to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) or PAYE deductions. To help your business stay on the right side of the Christmas ..read more

Imagine this: A few years ago, after careful saving and financial planning, you managed to buy an investment property. Your goal from the outset is to hold the property long term. You do some work to add value, and intend keeping it for many years to come to fund your retirement. To your surprise, one day you get a notification ..read more