While there may be no way to avoid taxes, understanding how to manage your tax affairs as a business owner will help keep payments to a bare minimum.After many years in public practice accounting, I regularly get asked by business owners how they can pay less to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). Unfortunately, while there’s no simple magic answer, I do have a few tips.Some business owners take the most amazing risks to avoid paying anything to the IRD. But if you’re looking to avoid the s ..read more

Nick is a fantastic accountant. He is knowledgeable, helpful and gives great advice. He is professional and passionate about what he does. We’ve been with big accountancy firms in the past and treated as just a number. It’s been a far more positive and personal experience with Nick. He is approachable, patient and focused on our best interests. If you’re looking for a top accountant you won’t find anyone better! Tomomi Bowcock - Rural Pest Services ..read more

Nobody likes paying more than they need to, and understanding how to control your GST payable as a business owner can save you money over the course of the financial year.Tax time is looming and many business operators are looking more closely at their accounts and wondering how to minimise, or streamline, the costs associated with EOFY.Read more here ..read more

The challenges of running a business are often all-consuming, but if there’s one thing you can’t afford to let out of your sight, it’s taxes. Here’s why. Getting to grips with the admin commonly associated with the ‘back office’ side of a business isn’t for everyone. And that’s fair enough, too. Dealing with the myriad requirements and complexities of local (or in some cases, multiple) taxation law is probably the hardest part, and that’s why many small business owners and entr ..read more

There are many things to avoid in business, and one of the most unpleasant is triggering an IRD audit. Here’s how it commonly happens. Having been involved in many tax investigations (on behalf of clients of course), I can confirm they are not very pleasant and can result in stress and serious financial difficulties, often leading to relationship breakups and bankruptcy. What is an IRD audit? According to the department, an Inland Revenue audit is an ‘examination of your financial ..read more

What does a “medium” business look like? Understanding how various organisations define business size categories is important for several reasons. New Zealand is a nation of small and micro businesses representing more than 97 percent of all firms. They account for 28 percent of employment and contribute over a quarter of New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP). New Zealand has a higher percentage of small and micro businesses than most other countries, noting that, unlike New Zealand ..read more

Many small business owners are rightly concerned about making errors with Goods and Services Tax (GST), so here are some of the more common and costly to avoid. As I wrote in my last piece on this topic, if you expect your business to bring in revenue of over $60,000 over the financial year, then you should be registered for GST. But even once you’ve made the call, there’s plenty more you’ll need to know about how your business handles GST in order to get it right. Read more here ..read more

A hallmark of NZ’s taxation system has long been the absence of a Capital Gains Tax on the sale of property, but is that strictly still the case?A new client of mine is upset about having to pay tax at 39 percent on the sale of a property, saying that when he immigrated here he was told NZ doesn’t have a Capital Gains Tax (CGT), such as you might find in Australia.Is he correct, does NZ have a CGT on property? In this article, I’ll explore the concept of taxation on the sale of properties ..read more

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a tricky tax to come to grips with for those who don’t deal with it on a day-to-day basis, so here are a few items to make certain you get right. As a financial advisor and accountant, there are a few errors I see frequently made by businesses when it comes to handling GST. From the outset, the one consideration small businesses and sole traders should have regarding whether or not to register for GST is a matter of their expected income. If you project inco ..read more

The ‘Wellbeing Budget’ announced yesterday may have arrived in a pretty fancy looking folder, but the shine could be wearing off for small business owners.On Thursday, Finance Minister Grant Robertson alighted on the steps of Parliament brandishing a glossy looking folder embossed with a map of New Zealand.For small and medium businesses still struggling with border restrictions and high levels of uncertainty, what Robertson has dubbed the ‘Wellbeing Budget’ appears to overlook this econ ..read more