Charitable Giving
New Zealanders are considered generous people with approximately 1.3 million kiwis regularly donating their time, money, goods and services to charities and other non-profit organisations. In an effort to further encourage and reward charitable giving, the 2007 Budget created a basis for a stronger culture of charitable generosity, which has been affirmed and incorporated into our Income Tax Act 2007. Changes in recent years increased thresholds for tax deductions and protocols have been implemented that make philanthropic endeavours easier and more convenient. Read the full post »
When a Disaster Strikes - Know your Rights
New Zealand is internationally renowned for it's breathtaking and diverse landscape, however less publicised, until recently, is the fact that we are situated between two major fault lines. Consequently seismic activity is also an undeniable feature of life in our remarkable land. The recent Canterbury earthquakes are a timely reminder of this fact and in light of this here are some key points to keep in mind if you are a tenant, landlord or home-owner. Read the full post »
Changes to the Employment Relations Act
Recent changes to the Employment Relations Act ('ERA') introduce legislative amendments aimed at promoting a more flexible relationship between employees and employers. The changes are to take effect on 1 April 2011. Read the full post »
Gift Duty to be Abolished
Gifting your assets is set to become easier with gift duty due to be abolished on 1 of October 2011. At present, gift duty is imposed on all gifts with a total value exceeding $27,000 in any 12 month period. The abolishment of gift duty will allow individuals to make gifts of any value in any one year without attracting gift duty and therefore not requiring the use of gifting programmes. Read the full post »
Changes to the Holidays Act
With immediate effect, if a business has an annual 'shutdown' period and a public holiday (such as Christmas) falls on a day that an employee would normally work, the employee is entitled to be paid for the public holiday even though it occurs when the business is closed. Read the full post »
Grant and I appreciated very much how thorough Lorraine Michell was. It is not often you have documents explained to that degree. Thank you.
Ngai Tahu Property Limited