General policy statement
This taxation omnibus Bill introduces amendments to the following Acts:
Tax Administration Act 1994;
Goods and Services Tax Act 1985;
Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021–22, GST, and Remedial Matters) Act 2022; and
Taxation (Annual Rates for 2022–23, Platform Economy, and Remedial Matters) Act 2023.
Broadly, the policy proposals in this Bill fall into three categories. The first category sets the annual rates of income tax for the 2023–24 tax year.
The second category contains proposals aimed at improving current settings within a broad-base, low-rate framework. This framework helps to ensure the tax system is fair and efficient and impedes economic growth as little as possible. It also helps to keep compliance costs low and minimises opportunities for avoidance and evasion. The framework underpins the Government’s revenue strategy and helps to maintain public confidence in the tax system, which is crucial to encourage voluntary compliance.
Although New Zealand has relatively strong tax settings, it is important to maintain the tax system and ensure that it continues to be fit for purpose. Changes in the economic environment, business practice, or interpretation of the law can mean that the tax system becomes unfair, inefficient, complex or uncertain. The tax system needs to be responsive to these concerns.
The third category contains proposals aimed at improving the settings for tax administration, KiwiSaver and child support rules administered by Inland Revenue.
The main non-budget policy measures within this Bill have been developed in accordance with the Generic Tax Policy Process (GTPP), an open and interactive engagement process between the public and private sectors. This process helps to ensure that tax and social policy changes are well thought through. The GTPP is designed to ensure better, more effective policy development through the early consideration of all proposals and their likely impacts. The GTPP increases opportunities for public consultation.
The GTPP means that major tax initiatives that are not budget-sensitive are subject to public scrutiny at all stages of their development. As a result, Inland Revenue and Treasury officials can develop more practical options for reform by drawing on information provided by the private sector and the people who will be affected.
Setting annual rates of income tax for the 2023–24 tax year
The Income Tax Act 2007 requires the rates of income tax to be set each year by an annual taxing Act. The Bill proposes that the annual rates of income tax for the 2023–24 tax year be set at the rates currently specified in schedule 1, part A of the Income Tax Act 2007.
Global Anti-Base Erosion rules for New Zealand
The Bill proposes to introduce the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) rules in New Zealand. The GloBE rules are a global minimum tax developed by the Inclusive Framework on BEPS (IF), which is led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The GloBE rules aim to limit the ‘race to the bottom’ when countries compete to attract mobile income (eg, interest, dividends and royalties) by offering low tax rates and tax incentives. The rules are designed so that multinational enterprises (MNEs) with annual revenues above €750 million are subject to tax of at least 15% on their mobile income in every country where that income is earned.
The GloBE rules are intended to apply to every in-scope MNE in the world, no matter where it has its headquarters, operations or sales. The design of the rules means this can be achieved even if many, or indeed most, countries do not adopt the rules. The rules require implementation by a critical mass of countries to be effective.
The GloBE rules introduced in this Bill would introduce a multinational top-up tax that consists of an income inclusion rule (IIR) and an undertaxed profits rule (UTPR). Together, they would ensure that, if the GloBE rules are adopted by a critical mass of other countries—
New Zealand would not lose revenue it is entitled to collect to other countries; and
administration and compliance costs for in-scope New Zealand MNEs and the government would be reduced.
The effective date of the GloBE rules in New Zealand would be set by Order in Council once the Government determines that a critical mass of countries has adopted the GloBE rules. This would not be earlier than 1 January 2024 for the IIR and 1 January 2025 for the UTPR.
Whether an in-scope MNE has a multinational top-up tax filing and (potentially) payment obligation would be determined by applying the OECD-published Model Rules, Commentary and Agreed Administrative Guidance. The Bill proposes that instead of repeating or translating these texts into New Zealand tax law, they would be incorporated by reference. Modifications to the Model Rules to ensure that they work as intended in New Zealand would be contained in a schedule. This approach to implementing the Model Rules is preferable because it is more efficient. Transposing the Model Rules into New Zealand law would be disproportionately costly and would increase the risk of interpretive errors and mismatches between the GloBE rules as adopted in other countries and as adopted in New Zealand.
Operative rules
The proposed multinational top-up tax rules would require an MNE headquartered in New Zealand to undertake the following steps:
Determine whether it is in scope for the GloBE rules, ie, if it has an international presence and over €750 million in consolidated revenues in any two of the preceding four years.
Determine whether any safe harbours apply in each country where it operates.
Calculate its effective tax rate (ETR) in each country where it operates and where a safe harbour does not apply.
Calculate its mobile income by calculating its GloBE income (ie, accounting profit subject to GloBE adjustments) in each country and reducing it by the substance-based income exclusion (SBIE). The SBIE is a carve out based on tangible assets and payroll costs in a country.
Calculate the top-up tax due if its ETR in a country is less than 15%. The top-up tax will bring the ETR on the MNE’s mobile income in that country up to 15%.
Pay multinational top-up tax to Inland Revenue for:
New Zealand operations under the domestic income inclusion rule (DIIR), which applies when a New Zealand-headquartered MNE has undertaxed mobile income in New Zealand.
Foreign operations under the IIR, which applies when a New Zealand MNE earns the undertaxed income in another country.
MNEs headquartered outside New Zealand could also be subject to multinational top-up tax under the proposals if they have an intermediate parent located in New Zealand or a liability under the UTPR.
Interaction between the GloBE rules and New Zealand tax law
Amendments are also proposed to deal with how New Zealand tax law interacts with the GloBE rules. These amendments propose that imputation credits would not be available for taxes paid under the IIR or UTPR but would be available for taxes paid under the New Zealand DIIR. In addition, foreign tax credits would not be available for taxes paid under an IIR or UTPR to another country.
The GloBE rules contemplate that countries may introduce a DIIR. This would use the same tax base as the GloBE rules but would be imposed on domestic undertaxed mobile income derived by locally headquartered MNEs and intermediate parent entities. The Bill proposes introducing a DIIR in New Zealand as it would ensure that local MNEs only pay top-up tax to Inland Revenue on undertaxed mobile income in New Zealand. This would remove the potential compliance costs of falling within the scope of other countries’ UTPRs.
A provision would also be introduced to deal with the interaction between the GloBE rules and double tax agreements. The IF has always intended for both the IIR and UTPR to be compatible with tax treaties based on the OECD Model. Accordingly, the GloBE rules adopted by New Zealand would apply notwithstanding the terms of a tax treaty, unless those terms expressly refer to the GloBE rules.
Administration of the multinational top-up tax rules
Under the multinational top-up tax rules, a New Zealand-headquartered MNE would be required to submit a GloBE Information Return (GIR) to Inland Revenue. The GIR would provide information on the tax calculations made by the group and contain the information a tax administration would need to evaluate the correctness of the MNE’s self-assessed tax liability. The due date for the GIR would be 15 months after the end of the income year of the MNE (18 months in the initial reporting year).
The Bill introduces an administrative regime that would deal with the multinational top-up tax rules, including the following:
A requirement for all in-scope MNEs to register with IR within six months of the end of the first income year in which they are in scope of the multinational top-up tax rules.
A requirement for all in-scope MNEs to file a separate annual top-up tax return, which would either be nil or the amount of their multinational top-up tax.
New penalties of up to $100,000 for failure to submit a complete GIR on a timely basis or to register for GloBE on a timely basis. The size of these penalties would reflect the scale of the taxpayers they apply to.
As the GloBE rules and the country-by-country reporting rules are closely linked, the Bill also proposes a new penalty of up to $100,000 for failure to submit a complete country-by-country report on a timely basis.
Increasing the trustee tax rate to 39%
The Bill proposes aligning the trustee tax rate with the 39% top personal tax rate from the 2024–25 income year (beginning on 1 April 2024 for most trusts).
Tax paid on trustee income is a final tax. This means that once tax has been paid at the trustee tax rate (which is currently 33%), no further tax is payable when tax-paid trustee income is later distributed to a beneficiary who is on the 39% top personal tax rate. Aligning the trustee and top personal tax rates would therefore help ensure that trusts cannot be used to shelter income from the top personal tax rate.
In addition to increasing the trustee tax rate, special rules are proposed to buttress the 39% rate and help mitigate over-taxation that could arise for certain types of trusts:
Certain beneficiary income allocations to corporate beneficiaries would be taxed as trustee income to help ensure that trustees cannot circumvent a 39% trustee tax rate by sheltering income in a corporate beneficiary.
Trustee income of trusts settled for the care of disabled people would be taxed at the personal tax rate of the disabled beneficiary rather than the trustee tax rate.
Trustees of estates, which are taxed as trusts, would be able to tax income derived within 12 months of the deceased person’s date of death at the deceased person’s personal tax rates.
ACC and MSD lump sum backdated payments
The Bill proposes to alter the tax treatment of certain types of backdated lump sum payment (BLSP) to address the tax disparity that arises when the timing of the receipt of a BLSP results in a higher tax liability than would arise if the amount had been spread over the periods to which it relates (ie, an amount that should have been paid over multiple years but is paid as a lump sum in a single year).
Generally, payments of employment income are taxed on a cash basis (when they are received). This principle allows tax to be deducted by the payer in the current tax year. This reduces compliance costs and is simple and easy to understand.
While taxing payments on a cash basis tends to be the best option for employment-related payments, this approach can lead to fairness issues when payments that relate to two or more previous tax years are paid in a later tax year. This tax treatment can push a taxpayer into a higher tax bracket, resulting in a larger tax liability than if they had received the payment at the correct time.
To address this issue, the Bill proposes an alternative tax treatment that would approximate the lower amount of tax that would be owing if the payment had been paid over the relevant earlier years. This alternative tax treatment is proposed for two types of BLSP: backdated ACC payments and backdated MSD entitlements.
For backdated ACC compensation payments that consist of a lump sum and relate to more than one income year, the Bill proposes that the tax rate that would apply would be—
10.5% if the recipient’s average basic tax rate calculated over the four previous years is less than 10.5%; or
the recipient’s average basic tax rate calculated over the four previous years; or
the recipient’s basic tax rate for the year they receive the payment if that rate is higher than 10.5% and lower than their average basic tax rate for the four previous years.
For backdated MSD benefit payments that consist of a lump sum that relates to more than one income year, the Bill proposes that the tax deducted by MSD would be treated as the final amount of tax owed.
Government payment of three percent KiwiSaver contribution to paid parental leave recipient
The Bill proposes the Government pay a three percent KiwiSaver contribution into the KiwiSaver accounts of paid parental leave (PPL) recipients who pay three percent of their PPL payments into their KiwiSaver accounts. This would take effect from 1 July 2024 and help to increase the retirement savings of people who take time away from work on PPL.
Tax rollover relief in response to recent flooding events
The Bill proposes tax rollover relief for assets destroyed or made economically useless by the January-February North Island flooding events. Similar relief was provided in the case of the Canterbury and Hurunui-Kaikōura earthquakes as part of a series of taxation assistance measures for affected businesses.
Normally, the receipt of insurance proceeds for a destroyed business asset gives rise to either depreciation recovery income or income on the disposal of a revenue account asset. The effect of the proposed rollover relief would be to defer the recognition of this income provided there was a commitment to rebuild or replace the destroyed buildings or plant. This would provide some cash flow benefits for insured businesses severely affected by the floods to assist them in their rebuild or replacement, and it would limit the windfall revenue gain that the Government would otherwise receive from the events.
A maximum five-year rollover/deferral period is proposed from the 2022–23 income year. If the asset has not been rebuilt or replaced by the 2027–28 income year, the suspended income would be brought to account in that year. If the business decided in an earlier income year to cease business or not to rebuild or replace the asset, the suspended income would be brought to account in that earlier year.
Granting six charities overseas donee status
The Bill proposes six New Zealand charities with overseas charitable purposes be granted overseas donee status and listed in schedule 32 of the Income Tax Act 2007. This status would mostly take effect on 1 April 2024. The Bill also proposes to remove seven charities as they have ceased operations or been wound up. These charities would be removed upon enactment of the Bill.
Extending tax exemption for non-resident offshore oil rig and seismic vessel operators
The Bill proposes extending the existing temporary five-year income tax exemption on the income of non-resident offshore oil rig and seismic vessel operators.
The current exemption, which is due to expire on 31 December 2024, would be extended for a further five years until 31 December 2029. The exemption removes the incentive for rigs and seismic vessels to “churn” (ie, to move in and out of New Zealand waters within 183 days to ensure income is not taxable under many of our double tax agreements), an inefficient process that has negative environmental impacts.
Extending the exemption for a further five years is in keeping with the Government’s previous announcement that existing operators’ rights would be maintained.
Remedial amendments
Several remedial matters are also addressed in the Bill. These include:
extending automatic resident withholding tax exempt status to all entities registered under the Charities Act 2005;
extending the definition of a gift-exempt body;
ensuring that assets transferred to a person that is not a charity registered under the Charities Act 2005 are subject to the deregistration tax;
excluding technical services fees and interest and royalties connected to a third state permanent establishment from the double tax agreement source rule;
ensuring the provisional tax calculation works as intended for taxpayers using a year preceding the prior year to calculate their provisional tax liability;
minor amendments to the portfolio investment entity tax provisions;
clarifying the rules relating to non-cash dividends received by a custodian from a foreign company;
treating persons becoming New Zealand residents as acquiring all financial arrangements with a New Zealand source held by them on the date they become a resident;
changing the way in which the taxation of extra pay is determined;
allowing the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to share information relating to deceased KiwiSaver members’ estates with KiwiSaver providers;
clarifying that the child support time bar does not apply to temporary exemptions;
clarifying the meaning of “building” for depreciation purposes;
amending the main home exclusion in the bright-line test to ignore the period during which a person’s main home is constructed;
changing the relevant period in the 10% income interest test for access to the attributable foreign investment fund income method; and
amending recently enacted legislation relating to the North Island flooding events to ensure clarity and consistency.
Several minor maintenance items, consisting mainly of correcting minor faults of expression, reader’s aids, and incorrect cross-references, are also addressed in the Bill.
Details of further remedial amendments are included in the Commentary to the Bill.