New legislation

• SL 2024/154– Order in Council Double Tax Agreements (Slovak Republic) Order 2024
• SL 2024/153 – Order in Council Double Taxation Relief (Austria) Amendment Order 2024

Legislation and determinations

• DET 24/03: Determination under section RD 11(3) of the Income Tax Act 2007 of the amount of tax for a payment of a main benefit

Interpretation statements

• IS 24/05: Employer obligations for employee share scheme benefits paid in cash
• IS 24/06: PAYE – How an employer funds the tax cost on an employee share scheme benefit

Commissioner’s statement

• CS 24/01: Determining the “market value” of shares that an employee receives under an employee share scheme

Standard practice statements

• SPS 24/01: Requests to change a balance date
• SPS 24/02: Extension of time applications from customers without tax agents

Technical decision summaries

• TDS 24/15: GST – payment for participation in religious practice
• TDS 24/16: Look-through company election

This Commissioner’s statement sets out the Commissioner’s position and operational approach in relation to the withholding obligations that may arise in relation to transfer pricing arrangements.

The High Court found in favour of the Commissioner, confirming assessments made in relation to income tax returns for the years ending 31 March 2018 and 2019 disallowing deductions claimed by Mr and Mrs Lawrence (together the plaintiffs) for remediation work on their Tauranga rental property. The Commissioner considered the payments were capital in nature and made assessments on that basis. The High Court found the evidence supported the Commissioner’s position and the plaintiffs had not satisfied their onus to show the assessments were wrong and by how much.

This interpretation statement considers what deductions employers can claim for income tax in relation to employee share schemes. It explains the need to satisfy the general permission and when the capital limitation might apply.

A trust is a creation of the law of equity and is not a legal entity distinct from its trustee. Instead, a trust is a fiduciary relationship where a trustee holds property for the benefit of beneficiaries or, where the trust is a charitable trust, for the specified charitable purposes. Although the trustee has legal ownership of the trust property, they hold it subject to the beneficial interests of the beneficiaries and must act in accordance with the terms of the trust and the Trusts Act 2019.

This question we’ve been asked (QWBA) provides further guidance on the meaning of “land” for the purposes of the compulsory zero-rating rules.  It supplements an earlier QWBA, QB 20/04, and interpretation statement IS 17/08.

Income tax: deductibility of bonuses; whether issue of shares to fund bonuses are income; tax avoidance

Look-through company; look-through counted owner; available capital distribution amount; tainted capital gains

Tax Information Bulletin - Vol 36 No 8, September 2024

This Statement sets out certain practices that the Commissioner will apply when considering applications for an extension of time to file an income tax return from customers who are not represented by a tax agent.

Tax Information Bulletin - Vol 36 No 8, September 2024

Determinations

• FDR 2024/02: A type of attributing interest in a foreign investment fund for which a person may not use the fair dividend rate method (Colchester Multi-Strategy Global Bond Fund PLC – The Colchester Global Green Bond Enhanced Currency Fund - NZD Hedged Accumulation Class Z Shares)

• DEP112: Tax Depreciation Rate for metal (scrap) recovery plant

Interpretation statement

• IS 24/04: Trustee of employee share scheme trust treated as nominee

Questions we’ve been asked

• QB 24/03: Fringe benefit tax – employee share loans and associates
• QB 24/04: When is a subdivision project a taxable activity for GST purposes?

Technical decision summaries

• TDS 24/13: GST – supply of accommodation
• TDS 24/14: Interest free loan and dividends