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Reserve Bank Warns That A Recession Is Coming

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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announced that it had raised the official cash rate (OCR) by 75 basis points to 4.25%. This is the biggest hike it has carried out since the global financial crisis of 2008 and considerably higher than the market had anticipated. The RBNZ is…

Commerce Commission Urges Comparison Shopping

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The Commerce Commission is advising motorists to take more time to shop around for the lowest prices on fuel in their local areas. Commissioner John Small said that this would help drive healthy competition with time and was a key factor in exerting downward pressure on pricing at the pump.…

Airbnb Appeals Against GST Proposal

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Airbnb is opposing a move by the government to levy goods and services tax (GST) on its accommodation bookings as of April 2024. The company is basing its opposition on suggestions that such a change would stifle the country’s economy and cause it to lose as much as $500 million…

Government Once Again, Targets Buy Now Pay Later Schemes

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The government has grown increasingly concerned by the growing number of Kiwis that are becoming burdened by debts they cannot seem to afford. One of the contributors to this situation is buy now pay later (BNPL) schemes that the government now wants to enforce rules on. Commerce and Consumer Affairs…

Cost of Living Rose 7.7percent YoY

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Stats NZ has reported that the cost of living for the average New Zealand household rose by 7.7% over the last year ending in September 2022. All household groups suffered their highest annual increase in the cost of living since the index started in 2008. The household living costs price…

Robertson Lambasts National’s Proposed Tax Cuts

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Despite a recent Treasury report confirming the country had recorded a smaller-than-expected budget deficit of $9.7 billion thanks to boosted tax revenue collection and slower growth in spending, Finance Minister Grant Robertson has said that there are no plans by the government to cut the tax rate for top earners.…

New Payment Regime to Benefit Small Businesses in New Zealand

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Minister for Small Business, Stuart Nash, recently confirmed that the Business Payment Practices disclosure scheme will help bring transparency to business-to-business payment practices. Under this scheme, firms with revenues exceeding $33 million a year would be required to report on their payment practices every six months. This threshold for what…

NZ Dodges Recession with Strong Economic Growth

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The New Zealand economy grew by 1.7% during the June quarter, confirming that the country has managed to defy the odds and not go into a recession. This has been a positive result following a poor showing in the March quarter that saw the economy decline by 0.2%. Financial experts…

Cyber Scams Becoming Increasingly Sophisticated

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The NZ Superannuation Fund has reported incidents of scammers impersonating the fund online in a bid to defraud people of their money. The cons involve offering savers access to cryptocurrency investments. There was also an incident whereby the scammers used fake names and images to appeal for investments in the…

New Zealand Government Scraps Plans for New KiwiSaver Tax

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Following much criticism and uproar from finance professionals, opposition politicians, the fund sector, and the general public, the government has halted plans to boost GST on fees for managed funds and KiwiSaver which would have increased tax collection by about $225 million a year, from 2026. This would come from…