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New Zealand

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Tax authorities

Inland Revenue Department
PO Box 39010
Wellington Mail Centre
Lower Hutt 5045
Tel: +64 4 978 0779
General Enquiries for non-residents: nonres@ird.govt.nz
Website: www.ird.govt.nz

Tax rates at a glance

(As of September 2012)

Corporate income 28%
Capital gains 0%
Branch tax 28%
Withholding tax
Dividends 0%/15%/30% (a)
Interest 15%
Royalties 15%
Technical Services fee 15%
Branch remittance fee 0%
Net operating losses
Carryback 0
Carryforward Indefinitely (b)
  1. Dividends paid to a nonresident are subject to a 30% nonresident withholding tax (NRWT) to the extent not fully imputed. Fully imputed dividends are subject to a 0% NRWT rate where the nonresident has a 10% or more voting interest in the company. In most other cases, the NRWT rate will be 15%. Rates may be subject to further reduction under an applicable tax treaty.
  2. Losses may be carried forward indefinitely, subject to a 49% continuity of ultimate share ownership requirement. Losses also may be offset against the profits of other group companies, where the companies are at least 68% commonly owned at all relevant times. It is generally possible to carry forward part-year losses. Losses may not be carried back to previous tax years.

New Zealand

Mathew McKay and Jarrod Walker
Bell Gully
Auckland

Tax avoidance and recovery have motivated government moves to reform legislation in the past 12 months, report Mathew McKay and Jarrod Walker of Bell Gully

[Show full article]

Tax

The global trend of tax authorities imposing tougher compliance requirements on taxpayers to generate more revenue also extends to New Zealand. Practitioners have noticed that as a result of the courts becoming more conservative in their legislative ... [more]

The reputable tax group at Bell Gully is led by Willy Sussman and supported by strong partners in Niels Campbell and Mathew McKay. Clients commend the team for their "excellent service" and Sussman for his expertise in customs and excise tax. The trend ... [more]

In 2011, Ross Milne took over the leadership of Deloitte's tax practice. His predecessor Thomas Pippos, who remains in the team as chief executive, has been commended by a client as someone who performs particularly well in the "policy type area, dealing ... [more]

Geoff Blaikie took over the leadership of Ernst & Young's tax practice in August 2011. The team has spent the last year strengthening their tax controversy practice, which is led by Kirsy Keating and is capable of assisting clients with all aspects of ... [more]

The tax authorities have identified transfer pricing audits to be a goldmine for revenue and the tax practice at KPMG has felt the effects of this focus as they have been busy helping their clients in tax audit defence and compliance work over the past ... [more]

PwC

The PwC tax team is led by Tony Gault. John Shewan, a tax practitioner, is chairman of the firm and is held in the highest regard by the market for his work in corporate tax, cross-border transactions and M&A. Clients often regard PwC's tax team as one ... [more]

Russell McVeagh has earned a highly reputable status as a law firm with a tax practice. Though the team only has three partners and 11 other tax professionals, each partner is recognised in their own right as an accomplished and respected tax professional. ... [more]

Chapman Tripp's tax practice is split between Auckland and Wellington. Veteran, Casey Plunket leads the Auckland tax team and David Patterson oversees the Wellington practice. The third partner, Graeme Olding is a tax litigation specialist who is held ... [more]

Andrew Ryan and John Peterson lead the tax practice at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts. Vivian Cheng acts as senior counsel to the team and there are four other professionals. Their capabilities cover indirect tax, corporate tax and tax disputes. A client ... [more]

Barney Cumberland became a partner in January 2012, so there are now two tax partners in the Simpson Grierson tax team, the other being Stuart Hutchinson. The partners, supported by three other professionals, advise on a broad range of commercial transactions ... [more]

Maree Kempthorne heads the tax practice at Baker Tilly Staples Rodway, which has five partners and nine fee earners. Mike Rudd, a cross-border structuring specialist, has joined the firm from Ernst & Young.Roger Thompson obtained a binding ruling from ... [more]

Grant Thornton's tax practice is led jointly by Colin DeFreyne and Murray Brewer. The firm is capable in all areas of tax advisory work, with an emphasis on transactional tax and M&A, and has a strong corporate finance team. DeFreyne frequently deals ... [more]

See also

New Zealand
Asia-Pacific

Firm contact details