Trop de Paris!
OPINION: Your old mate's ear has been chewed off recently by farmers voicing their displeasure with the National Party, particularly relating to how they're treating their farmer base.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
The National Party decided to rule out Inland Revenue's proposal to dramatically increase the tax burden on work vehicles, which assumed that they were also being increasingly used for private use.
The sentiment being that the proposal would unfairly target the legitimate use of work vehicles.
While the previous Government's so-called "ute tax" was a one-off cost, the latest proposal could have seen utes costing more than $80,000 purchased by a farm business for farmers or shareholders taxed at 100% of their value (capped at $80,000) even if they were used almost exclusively for farm use.
The result would potentially result in an estimated tax burden of between $5,500 and $8,200 per annum.
Meanwhile, employees and sharemilkers supplied vehicles, under the proposal, would be liable for a tax liability of $1,800 to $2,700 annually on a $50,000 value vehicle.
Following the IRD consultation period that ended in early May, many of those likely to be affected and their financial advisors waited for clarification on what constituted work and private use.
At the time, it was suggested that under the new proposals, if a Ute left the farm to head into town to source fencing materials or calf feeed supplies, the off-farm journey, to and from town would be private use. This was even though the vehicle was undertaking a transport function as part of the the farm operations.
In a statement, the National Party went on to comment that it would not be hitting any Kiwis with new tax burdens on utes-full stop - and that included changes to FBT changes.
The decision to walk away from the proposal would appear to suggest that the government, and particularly the National Party, are listening to the rural industries.
Global trade wars and uncertain tariff regimes could play into the hands of many New Zealand exporters, according to Gareth Coleman ANZ’s Head of Trade & Supply Chain.
The long running trade dispute between NZ and Canada appears to be over.
Herd improvement company LIC has ended the 2024-25 financial year in a strong position - debt-free and almost quadrupling its net profit.
There's been widespread support from the primary sector for the Government's move to put the brakes on local authorities to do any more work on planning changes ahead of major changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Rural health advocates say the Government's decision to establish a new medical school at the University of Waikato augurs well for the rural sector.
People affected by the recent two severe flood events in the Tasman district are weary and exhausted trying to deal with the devastation on their farms and orchards, according to the head of the Rural Support Trust (RST) in the region.
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