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NZ Government Shifts on Excise Tax

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New proposals have been presented under the Smoke-free Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan document to combat tobacco smoking in New Zealand. The NZ government has for years relied on increased excise taxes to help discourage smoking. The intention had been for smokers to see the rising cost and opt to curtail…

Accounting Body Calls for Simplicity in New Property Tax Rules

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During its oral submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee earlier this week, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) urged the government to resolve the complexities brought on by the new tax laws related to the bright-line test. The accounting body recently surveyed 361 of its members and…

NZ Interest Rate Hiked to Stem Inflation

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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has raised the official cash rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 0.75%. This is the second time in two months that the central bank has raised interest rates in an effort to curb inflationary pressures. This is amid the easing of pandemic…

Cryptocurrency Scams Targeting Millennials

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Crypto scams are now on the rise, with scammers seemingly setting their sights on younger demographics. A recent press release from Consumer NZ highlighted the case of a tax accountant in Auckland who lost $100,000 to such a scheme. The woman identified as Rachel was approached through a dating site.…

Westpac NZ Records $1.01B Profit as Its Share Value Tanks

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November 1 was a mixed bag of results for Westpac that announced it had made an annual profit of $1.01 billion over the last year ending in September 2021. This profit was a 56% increase on that of the previous year, a margin higher than the 39% increase recorded by…

HP New Zealand Reports Increase in Cybersecurity Attacks On SMBs

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The 2021 HP New Zealand IT Security Survey has found that small businesses have this year suffered double the amount of cyberattacks as in 2018. Despite growing investment in IT security in recent years, small businesses have endured additional costs associated with the attacks. The average cost for each attack…

RBNZ Mulls Launching Digital Currency

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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has opened up public consultation over proposals to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC). RBNZ Assistant Governor, Christian Hawkesby, has said that the trends in cash could pave way for greater innovation in money. This stems from the content in recently released…

Accountants for Zero Emissions

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The impacts of climate change are affecting the world already and is expected to worsen if not combated. As a result, many companies have started looking to turn green. Although initially it can be confusing where to start, accounting bodies are following suit. Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA…

RBNZ Hikes Benchmark Interest Rate

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In an attempt to cool a heated property market and rising inflation, New Zealand’s central bank has announced a hike in its cash rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday. Economists had expected a hike over a month ago, but the response was shelved following the most recent Covid-19 outbreak…