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Small Business Wage Increases Match Inflation

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According to the Small Business Index report generated by online accounting software firm Xero, small businesses have increased wages by 6.8% annually. This comes close to matching the year-on-year annual inflation rate recorded in June of 7.3%. The wage hike is the highest since the series began in January 2017,…

Inflation Hits Highest Level in Three Decades

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A report by Statistics New Zealand has found that the consumer price index (CPI) has risen 7.3% in the second quarter of the year, up from 6.9% in the first quarter. This is the fastest increase on record since June 1990 when the CPI rose by 7.6%. The CPI rose…

RBNZ Hikes Benchmark Interest Rate To 2.5percent

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In another attempt to control inflation, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has raised the benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 2.5%. This is the third time this year, following similar hikes in April and May, that the RBNZ has raised the official cash rate by…

Australian Tax Breaks Luring Away NZ Gaming Businesses

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There is growing concern that gaming companies are already either in the process of relocating some or all of their operations to Australia or contemplating the same following the introduction of tax breaks aimed at growing the industry. Last year, the Australian Government announced a A$1.2 billion package to boost…

IRD To Focus on Taxpayers with Overseas Incomes

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The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has just released its Offshore Tax Transparency guide that will help tax agents to comply with international rules. According to IRD spokesperson John Nash, New Zealand’s tax residents are obligated to pay tax on their worldwide income. This applies even where withholding tax has been…

Opinion Split on NZ Avoiding Recession

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Despite a report by Statistics New Zealand that the country’s GDP fell by 0.2% in the March quarter after previously rising by 3% in the December quarter, PM Jacinda Ardern remains optimistic that the situation will not worsen during the second quarter in a row, which would trigger a recession.…

Kiwis Warned to Be on The Alert for Digital Scams

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There have been increased reports of scammers conning Kiwis out of their hard-earned money using sophisticated means that include spoofed phone numbers and realistic dialogues that cause victims to inadvertently share bank and log-in details. This is being further supplemented by SMS messages with links to phishing websites and other…

Government Announces Draft Plan To Tax Agricultural Emissions

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New Zealand’s Ministries of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment have released a draft plan that will guide pricing on agriculture emissions that come from belching cattle and sheep. This plan will see New Zealand become the first country in the world to have farmers pay for the emissions that come…

Government Resists Calls for Sugar Tax

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According to recently published research from a World Health Organisation (WHO) funded study conducted across a dozen countries and several US states, taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages do work on reducing the demand for said beverages by causing their prices to increase. The research reviewed 86 studies that found that with…

RBNZ Raises Benchmark Interest Rate to 2 percent

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As the Reserve Bank announced an increase in the official cash rate (OCR) by 50 basis points to 2% on Wednesday, it added that further hikes of a similar amount were likely to occur in the coming months as it sought to curb spiralling inflation that has already hit a…