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Making Small Business Tax simpler – changes ahead

NZ’s tax system is recognised as one of the best in the world. But the way we manage it needs to improve.

Every time you do your tax it costs you time and money. And those costs add up if you often transact with Inland Revenue. Transactions also cost Inland Revenue time and money and, as taxpayers, you pay for that too. As well as paying for taxpayer-funded services the tax system benefits many New Zealanders through policies such as KiwiSaver and Working for Families. So it benefits everyone if the system is as efficient and simple as possible.

The Government wants the tax system to work for you and to reduce the cost of compliance so you can focus on running your business and living your lives. IRD asked for people's views on some key issues earlier, and now we're moving to the next level of detail.

A strong and growing business sector is a critical element of the kind of society we all want to live in. People gave a range of different views when IRD asked about business tax, and one particularly strong theme was making provisional tax work better. Reflecting these views and comments, the Government announced a range of business tax proposals on 13 April 2016, and officials are now seeking feedback on the best way to implement these proposals.

The full range of business tax proposals can be found in the issues paper Making Tax Simpler - Better Business Tax. (PDF, 552 KB)

One of these proposals is a new way to calculate and pay provisional tax, called the Accounting Income Method (AIM). You can find out more about this proposal, and give your feedback in an online forum - Provisional Tax - AIM.

Please take a look at both the issues paper and the online forum and provide your feedback - the Government wants to hear your views on how to build a better tax system for New Zealand businesses!