Reserve Bank Warns That A Recession Is Coming

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…

Highlights from Budget 2022

Budget 2022 is unlikely to elicit much excitement from the tax community as no new taxes or amendments to the income tax thresholds were announced despite some calls to do so. Rather, the government has opted to provide Kiwis with a temporary stimulus targeted at low to middle-income households. This…

Buy Now, Pay Later Services Come Under Fire

Consumer NZ is advocating for better credit regulation of the buy now pay later (BNPL) sector to avoid vulnerable consumers becoming at risk of falling into a spiral of debt. Head of campaigns, Gemma Rasmussen, has said that sensible regulation was needed to protect users from irresponsible lending. Her sentiments…

HP New Zealand Reports Increase in Cybersecurity Attacks On SMBs

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…

Tax statistics raise questions of fairness and equality

New data from Inland Revenue (IRD) and Treasury shows that the richest segment of the population – known as high wealth individuals (HWIs) – pay an average of 12% of their income in tax. By comparison, those earning median incomes between $55,000 to $60,000 pay an effective tax rate of…