It is proposed that the trustee tax rate will increase from 33% to 39%. This change was initially indicated back in the May 2023 budget, but it is yet to become law. Recently we have had strong indications from both the IRD and the finance minister, Nicola Willis, that this rate increase will go
Tired of paying rent for your commercial premises and considering buying a premises for your business? Owning a building works best if your business is well-established, you have money to invest, and you’re taking a long-term approach – it can take many years for this decision to pay for itself. The advantages of
The beginning of a new calendar year is an excellent time to review the year just finished and reflect on what worked, what didn’t, what you’d like to change and new things you’d like to implement. Take the time to review the year and acknowledge all that has happened, good, bad or indifferent.
Turning a profit will be high on your list of goals as a business owner. And if you want to generate the best margins, that means keeping an eye on the money that’s going out of the business, as well as what’s coming in. So, how can your accountant help with this? The
Running a business will always mean incurring certain expenses, or ‘spend’. Whether you’re a large family business or a small fledgling startup, there will be costs, overheads and supplier bills that mount up – and these expenses will gradually chip away at your cash position, making it more difficult to grow and make
Tax planning is a strategic approach to managing your business’ financial affairs, with the aim of legally minimising your tax liability. In other words, you plan ahead to make sure you pay the taxes you should be paying, but not a penny more. Working with your tax adviser, you can look for deductions,
We are excited to announce the trial of a four-and-a-half-day working week at UHY Haines Norton. Our three offices (Henderson, Kumeu and Helensville), will all be closed from 12:30pm every Friday from 1st December 2023 to 31st March 2024. This initiative is part of our commitment to prioritising the wellbeing of our staff and
Want to push your business to the next level? We’ve shared 10 hot questions to ask yourself as a business owner, with advice on how they will drive your growth and success. Running a busy and successful business means you often don’t have the time to step back
Hoping to sell your business in the next five years? We’ll help you get your business in order and come up with a sale plan that delivers the best possible sale price. Selling your business is a big move for any owner. You’ve built this company up, scaled
A business without a plan is like a ship without a rudder. Read our guide to writing a business plan and find out the major benefits of having a detailed roadmap to follow. Your business plan is the sat-nav that keeps the company moving in the right direction. Having
Here's our plain English guide to profit and loss and what this report reveals about your finances. What is Profit and Loss? Your profit and loss statement is commonly called your ‘P&L’. It’s also sometimes referred to as your income statement or statement of earnings. Your P&L is
UHY Haines Norton (Auckland) Ltd is delighted to announce that Director Emma Simpson CA, ATT UK (Fellow), is the recipient of the prestigious 2023 UHY Leadership Forum Award. UHY is currently ranked the 20th largest international accounting, audit, tax and consultancy network. The UHY Forum is a key event in the network’s
UHY Haines Norton is excited to announce the appointment of new Director Emma Simpson. Emma has 25 years’ experience in the accounting industry, including almost 16 years as a Chartered Accountant. She decided early in her working life that a career in accounting was right for her. “Accounting for me is like a puzzle,”
Giving is good! Donations not only help the charities that receive them, but they can boost your happiness and provide you with tax credits. Christmas Donations: The Tax Upside Christmas is a time for giving – and it’s not all about presents. Donating to charitable organisations is a fantastic way to support the causes close
INTRO CONTENT Holiday breaks are a time to re-charge for the year ahead. However, for some business owners, holidays can be a stressful time for cash-flow. Have you got the strategies in place to ensure you are in the best financial position this year? CONTENT Holiday breaks are a chance to recharge for the year
Keeping on top of your cashflow is even more important during tough economic times. With a global slowdown on the cards, energy prices soaring and supply chain still challenges, cash is likely to be tight over the coming year and beyond. Cloud technology and fintech apps, can give your business the best possible control over
We are excited to welcome four new staff members to the UHY team. Anita Sagar is our newest Administration team member in Henderson. Originally from Fiji, Anita moved to New Zealand 12 years ago and lived in Wellington for several years before making the move north to Auckland. She
Every business has a finite lifespan. Some may last for decades, and some may only last a couple of years. As the owner of a business, the life of your business is likely to be strongly aligned with your own life goals and personal plans for the future. When the time comes to sell up,
The Government recently announced a new tax incentive targeted at build-to-rent developers – and ‘mum and dad’ property investors aren’t happy. The new bill gives these developers an exemption from the tax deductibility limitations that are placed on most private landlords. Private landlords feel this new regime is unfair, according to Stuff. However, these build-to-rent
As an employer, if you provide fringe benefits to employees, or others associated with your business, you must generally pay fringe benefit tax (FBT) on the value of these benefits. So, when are you liable for FBT? Any time you provide non-cash benefits to your staff. The list is potentially endless but in practice, most
A major tax difference between commercial and residential buildings is that for commercial you can claim depreciation on your building. Depreciation for buildings was removed across the board in 2010, then reinstated – but only for commercial buildings – as part of a 2020 emergency pandemic support package. Residential
Due to the COVID pandemic, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has been taking a much more relaxed approach to outstanding tax debt – but now IRD is ready to crack down. Since the start of July, the IRD have stepped up their efforts to pursue outstanding amounts from taxpayers who owe tax. PAYE and KiwiSaver
Keeping your business operational is a full-time job. It’s a balancing act that requires you to keep a multitude of plates spinning – which has become even more challenging for many businesses in these pandemic times. But what happens if those plates stop spinning? Sudden unexpected threats can catch you on the hop. What if
To understand the financial position of your business at a specific point in time, you must look at the balance sheet, together with the Profit and Loss Statement and the Statement of Cash Flow. Together, these reports provide a complete understanding of your business. The balance sheet has three sections: assets, liabilities and equity. What
UHY Haines Norton is delighted to announce the appointment of Audit and Assurance Director Sungesh Singh to the role of Managing Director. After 18 years leading the firm, former Managing Director Grant Brownlee felt the time was right for fresh perspectives. “Sungesh Singh has the drive and commercial acumen to effectively lead the firm
We are delighted to welcome two new staff members to the UHY team. Leah Anderton is the newest member of the Henderson Administration team. Leah grew up in Tauranga and studied travel management at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic. She moved to Auckland six years ago and worked in
When you make a payment to IRD you will need your IRD number as a reference. Make sure you choose the right account type when making payments, as mis-coding your payment could result in IRD refunding the payment or missing future tax payments which may cause penalties to be charged by IRD. GST and Provisional
New trust rules mean that beneficiaries can automatically become settlors if there’s more than $25,000 in their beneficiary current account with the Trust. This has the potential to put assets at risk, so consider making changes now. There have been a lot of rule changes for trusts over the past few years – and now
If you receive income from overseas sources, sometimes working out the tax can be tricky. Here are twelve points to consider. #1 Declare rental income from overseas properties. You can claim deductions for rental-related expenses, and you may also be able to claim a credit for tax paid in the other country on that income.
A crystal ball would be very handy in business! But the good news is that quality forecasting can be just as useful, giving you an informed view of the future of your business and finances. Using forecasting to help your decision making is a way for savvy business owners to plan for different scenarios. Looking
Why cybersecurity resilience is about culture as much as technology In the post pandemic world of work, robust cybersecurity defences are more crucial than ever. That is not saying anything that most of us don’t know, but it is worth repeating. The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, making us all much more reliant on online
Have you achieved your start up business goals? Here are 5 important questions to ask yourself before you take the next step in your business journey. Founding, managing and growing a business is a BIG commitment. For most business owners, it will take years to build a customer following, turn a profit and create a
Money in, money out. Cash flow is one of the most important measures of your business's health. But how do you monitor it? It sounds simple to track sales on the one hand and expenses on the other – then compare the two. But a massive 65% of failed businesses say they closed because of
Most of the business owners we work with on our Business SAVY improvement programme want to grow their business: increase their income and the value of their business to create financial security in their lives. Even though they may be clear on what they want, they cannot achieve this because of one or more of
It’s expensive to invest in a new website, payment platform, project management software or automation. Should you take the plunge? We can help you weigh up the costs and benefits. Are you considering investing in a new way to make your business more productive or streamlined? With a tight labour market, everyone’s time is at
The Business Garden Designs Ltd* is a busy landscaping business created around six years ago by two brothers, Rob and Tim*. Servicing the greater Auckland area with residential landscaping, they currently have three permanent employees and use contractors regularly. The Issues When Rob and Tim first came on board as UHY clients they
Do you earn more than $180,000 in taxable income? Inland Revenue is proposing changes that will make it much tougher to avoid paying the full 39% top tax rate. In 2021, Inland Revenue increased the top tax rate to 39%. That rate is higher than both the 28% tax rate for companies and the 33%
With over 100 tax changes that came into effect in April, there’s sure to be something that will have an impact on you or your business. Take a look at our summary of the 13 most influential areas of change. Matariki is now a public holiday for tax purposes. GST is being tweaked for: groups;
Corporate tax rates worldwide hit new low of just 25.1% – but new trend of rising rates has already begun Corporate tax rates in leading economies worldwide have fallen to an average of just 25.1%* shows a new study by UHY, the international accounting and consulting network. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic leaving
We are delighted to welcome a new staff member to the Henderson office. Chris Long has joined us as an Intermediate BAS/Tax Accountant, and will be working closely with our Head of Tax, Jim Martin. Chris completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Statistics before deciding that accounting was what
In our experience, many small businesses don’t know which key performance indicators (KPIs) they should be tracking, how to access the relevant information, or what those metrics actually mean. Tracking specific metrics and financial KPIs allows you to see how you're performing against your targets – so you can take action to improve performance, sales,
You’re running a business, so you know the legal requirements around producing accounts and submitting tax returns. But do you understand the value that a good accountant and business adviser can add to your company? That's where management accounting comes in! As a business owner, managing director or CEO, there are three fundamental areas of
What to make of the topsy turvy world of cryptocurrency? A snapshot of that world in 2021 goes something like this. In March the price of bitcoin hit an all time high of USD 60,000. By July its value had more than halved. At the time of writing one bitcoin is priced at below USD
With all the changes the government has introduced to residential property investment, is now the right time to sell your rental property and cash up? We look at the reasons to exit the market – and the reasons to keep holding. Although property prices rose by over 30% in 2021, the predicted flatten out or
In this article from UHY International's CEO Rhys Madoc, he explains why training and development should be a critical success factor for most businesses. Clients expect professional service providers to offer the most up to date expertise and advice. Naturally, they expect us to be familiar with relevant legislation changes, regulatory reform, reporting standards and
Following the retirement of UHY Haines Norton Director and shareholder Kerry Tizard, we are excited to announce the appointment of Associate Erin Gibson to the role of Director and to take over his client base from 1st April 2022. Erin joined UHY Haines Norton in 2015 as a Senior Accountant, and her knowledge,
On 1st April 2022 Kerry Tizard retires as Director and shareholder of UHY Haines Norton (Auckland) Limited after 25 years. Kerry joined the firm when it was called Butts, Bainbridge and Weir (BBW) in 1990, originally as Business Services Manager. With a background working in commercial organisations, the change to
You've had your initial business idea and written a plan. But do you know WHY you're creating this business, or HOW you’ll deliver your end product/service? What will the company's underlying purpose be and how will your core values drive the business? To get these crucial elements ironed out, it’s a good idea to write
Banks, landlords and suppliers can sometimes ask you for a personal guarantee on a contract. Unfortunately, that could mean that if something goes wrong, you have put your house at risk. Here are a few ways to protect your home and your other personal assets from potential business problems. Personal Guarantees Banks, landlords and suppliers might
Congratulations to our Henderson Senior Accountant Natasha Fernandes, who married Jervis Ferreira earlier last month. The couple enjoyed an amazing day with beautiful weather – and luckily not too many disruptions from Covid! We wish them the very best for a wonderful life together. Several of our Accountants
If you earn income from interest or dividends, or if you pay business interest to investors, it’s a good idea to understand how Resident Withholding Income and Tax (RWT) affects you. Resident withholding income includes interest and dividends. Generally, resident withholding tax (RWT) must be paid on it. If you are a New Zealand tax
Business budgets and cashflow forecasts are only for the bank, right? It’s just accounting jargon that doesn’t really have anything to do with the day-to-day running of your business, right? Wrong! As accountants we do like talking about business budgets and cashflow forecasts – guilty as charged! But what many small business owners may not
Is your business using e-invoicing? It’s a fantastic way to protect yourself and your customers from invoice scams, and it can help you get paid faster. E-invoices replace emailed PDF invoices or links to online invoices. Instead, e-invoices are delivered securely to your clients, even across different accounting systems. Preventing Invoice Fraud Invoice scams are
The beginning of a new calendar year is an excellent time to review the year just finished and reflect on what worked, what didn’t, what you’d like to change and new things you’d like to implement. For the second year in a row, Covid had an inescapable impact on many businesses, with some thriving, others
New Zealand’s rules around dividing property after a separation aren’t always well understood – know where you stand and how to protect yourself in a new relationship. New Zealand’s relationship property laws aren’t always well understood – the rules can come as a surprise to Kiwis who are separating from their partners. Here are a
Although this year many businesses are having to do their end of year celebrations differently, this is still the time of year when you usually spend more than usual on staff and client entertainment. Inland Revenue provides specific rules regarding different types of entertainment expenses. Here are some rules regarding Christmas business expenses that are
Holiday breaks are a time to re-charge for the year ahead. However, for business owners, it can be a stressful time for cash-flow. Have you got the strategies in place to ensure you are in the best financial position this year with your Christmas cashflow planning? Christmas holiday breaks are a chance to re-charge for
We explain how scaling up your business is a great way to keep pace with the current financial environment. We are all living in a low yield/high asset price environment due to structural shifts across the world which has seen central banks willing to print enormous amounts of money to prop up the system. The
In August we were excited to welcome four new Graduate Accountants onto the team. The only hiccup was – we were in lockdown! Here two of the grads, David Reddy and Setefano Talamaivao-Marsters tell their story about starting a new job remotely. It’s a painful feeling that most of us go through on a regular
A common decision that business owners need to make is whether to lease or buy equipment for running their business. This dilemma happens when first starting up a business, during phases of growth or expansion, and periodically when equipment needs to be upgraded or replaced. So how do you decide which is the better
In one of our recent articles, we talked about the benefits of using a Chartered Accountant. If you’ve decided to use an accountant for your business that’s great, but how do you find one that’s right for you and will add value to your business? Here are some things to consider for finding an accountant
In today’s modern economy staying connected and “on trend” makes an increasing difference to your business’ presence in the marketplace. This is also true of your relationship with your accountant. Are you well connected? Can you collaborate? Do you share or sound board ideas off one another? Can you look at your live accounting data
This latest article from UHY International looks at although Covid has had a devastating economic effect, in many regions the pandemic's disruptive force is creating new opportunities and fostering entrepreneurship. As vaccine rollouts progress, economies are opening up again and businesses are gearing up to retake ground lost to the pandemic. Or at least, those
New Zealand saw 1,500 electric cars sold in 2020, down 19% from almost 1,900 in 2019, with sales taking a hit during the pandemic, while global electric car sales rose 31% in 2020. Our new UHY International study of 26 countries worldwide shows New Zealand sold 1,500 new electric cars (excluding hybrids) during the first
If you were to visualize your business in 10 years’ time what would it look like? Specifically: How much revenue will it generate? How many staff will you have? Where will your premises be located and how big will they be? What products and services will you offer and what
Thinking about buying a business? We have been providing independent business valuations for over 30 years, so we’ve put together a checklist of things to consider before making that big decision on buying a business. 1. Why is it being sold? It’s not always easy, but do your homework and see if you can find
The Business Established over 15 years ago, 123 Consulting Ltd* are financial investment advisors who provide investment advice to both private investors and corporations. The Issues We began working with 123 Consulting Ltd six years ago. The business was not performing to its full potential despite there being steady demand for their consultancy
The Business The Plumbing Company Ltd is owned by husband-and-wife team, Matt and Susan, who employ 4 additional staff. The business provides both residential and commercial plumbing services. The Issues Although demand was steady, in recent years Matt and Susan became frustrated by the business’ lack of growth. They knew they wanted to
The Business Smith Family Ltd* is a successful family business which has been designing and manufacturing commercial retail fittings for over 30 years. It is headed up by husband and wife team, Bridget and Tom, and their daughter is also a manager in the business. The
The Business XYZ Ltd* is a niche business in New Zealand’s competitive creative industry with around 10 fulltime staff. We began working closely with them three years ago, when a new shareholder bought a 1/3 interest in the business. The Issues XYZ Ltd had a talented design team but were weak in several fundamental
One of the questions we are often asked by our clients is: what are accounts payable, and why do you need to manage them? If your business purchases goods or services and doesn’t pay for them upfront, you will receive an invoice from the supplier. These are your accounts payable, i.e. the bills you owe.
Tracking invoices is an important task for every business. Managing your accounts receivable by monitoring when invoices are paid means you can take action as soon as payment is overdue. This is essential for healthy business cash flow, and can also help you to make informed decisions about extending credit to customers. If you don’t
If you are a small business owner, you may wonder if you should use a Chartered Accountant. After all, accounting software packages are increasingly sophisticated in the tasks they perform, while still being user-friendly for people who are not overly tech-savvy. Small business owners often need to wear many different hats: CEO, Business Development Manager,
EXPERT INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS FOR WORLD BUSINESS The 11th edition of UHY Global magazine is now available to read online. UHY Global draws on the knowledge of UHY’s network of member firms to provide insight and expertise for today’s global business community in a thought-provoking, upbeat and engaging read. Topically wide ranging, each feature demonstrates
Buying or selling a business or a commercial property? There are new purchase price allocation rules you should be aware of. When land and buildings or a business is being sold, allocation of the purchase price between the business assets can result in different tax implications for the buyer and seller. In some situations,
Tim Livingstone pays tribute to his friend and colleague Brian Corban CNZM, QSO, who passed away last month. I was lucky to have worked with Brian in the West Auckland community and in business for the past 40 years. I bought into UHY Haines Norton (previously known as Butts, Bainbridge
Ever wondered what questions to ask your accountant? UHY Haines Norton Helensville Manager Arpita Khanwalkar explains why your Accountant can be your best resource in helping you to achieve your goals. Many of us believe that our visit to the accountant is a ‘once a year’ thing. Clients visit us, sign their accounts/tax returns, briefly
When approaching a bank or other intermediary for the purpose of borrowing funds, they may advise a structure that is easy for them and meets their internal requirements. This is not necessarily, and often times is exactly the opposite of, our recommended advice on how to structure loans in order to maximise tax deductions and
ACC is like a mandatory insurance policy for businesses that covers business owners and staff for personal injury. There are four types of ACC levies that businesses may pay: Work Levy – paid by businesses based on PAYE employees’ wages to cover workplace injuries. Earners’ Levy – paid by all active income earners to
From the 2021 year onwards, any PIE income and the tax deducted at your Prescribed Investor Rate (PIR) will need to be disclosed in your end of year tax return so IRD can determine whether an adjustment needs to be made for any incorrect PIE tax deductions. Tax at the PIR is no longer treated
Businesses with tax debts under $10,000 should note that the IRD will be taking action soon. The IRD will begin contacting taxpayers with outstanding tax arrears under $10,000 from 1st June 2021 if: The debt is more than 60 days overdue, and The amount of the debt is between $200 and $10,000, and The debt
Q. What’s the big deal about business expenses? A. Put simply, business expenses can help to lower your tax bill. Many business expenses can be claimed to offset your business income, reducing the amount of tax you need to pay. So it’s in your interest to know what expenses you can claim. Q. Who can
The IRD is extending support for farmers and growers whose current or future income will be significantly affected by the ongoing drought in several parts of New Zealand. The IRD will exercise discretion in accepting late deposits to the income equalisation scheme, as well as allowing early withdrawals from the scheme. The affected areas are:
Legislation has been introduced in New Zealand that requires all accounting firms to put preventative measures in place to help identify and prevent money laundering under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act 2009. This legislation requires us (along with all other accounting firms) to conduct ‘AML checks’ on all of our
The bright-line test’s main home exemption rules have been amended for residential land acquired on or after 27 March 2021. From that date the exemption rules will not be applied on an all-or-nothing basis for those property purchases, but instead the exemption will apply only for the period during which the property is actually used
It's becoming more common for a residential property to have several owners as this can significantly help with financing the purchase. It does, however, raise questions in regard to the bright-line test when acquiring property from co-owners. Here we look at whether the bright-line test applies in the scenario where a part owner of residential
As part of the government’s proposed changes to claiming interest deductions against residential property income, the interest deductions for rental properties acquired on or after 27th March 2021 (other than for new builds – but yet to be confirmed) will not be permitted from 1st October 2021. If money is borrowed on or after 27th
Does your Dashboard bank account “Balance in Xero” never match your imported statement balance, even when you have no more transactions left to reconcile? The Xero Bank Reconciliation Report can help with that! While Xero shows you a nice green tick and the word “Reconciled” on your Dashboard, your bank account in Xero may
If you have made any donations of $5 or more during the financial year, you may be able to claim these as tax credits. For claiming donations as tax credits: The charity or organisation you donated to must be an approved donee as per the IRD’s ‘Approved Donee Organisations’ list ; The donation must not
Unfortunately, fraud is on the increase and preventing business fraud should be an ongoing priority for all business owners. Business fraud can often be a result of dishonest staff having too much influence or control over a number of key functions of the business. The consequences of fraud or error can be devastating for a
