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Public excluded from foreign trust inquiry
The Government has ruled out public input into the inquiry into New Zealand foreign trusts which will undermine public confidence in any of the inquiry’s findings, the Green Party said today. Finance Minister Bill English ruled out public input into the foreign trust inquiry during question time in Parliament today. “Excluding the public from an inquiry into foreign trusts will further weaken the inquiry’s credibility,” said Green Party Co-Leader James Shaw. “Without public input, inquiry head John Shewan will have... -
Inquiry into foreign trusts must restore NZ’s reputation
The Green Party is welcoming John Key’s U-turn on foreign trusts but is calling for a broader public inquiry to ensure this isn’t a whitewash, the Green Party said today. “The Prime Minister is in damage control mode over the use (and abuse) of New Zealand’s foreign trust regime, today announcing that he will appoint an independent expert to review New Zealand’s rules around foreign trusts,” said Green Party Co-Leader James Shaw. “While I welcome the Prime Minister’s U-turn on... -
Kiwibank buy back could cost tax payers $800 million
The Government’s plan to sell Kiwibank to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and ACC Fund for $495 million could end up costing taxpayers between $800 million and $1.1 billion to buy back, the Green Party said today. Analysis done by the Parliamentary Library using two different valuation methods comes up with a cost to buy back Kiwibank in five years’ time at $800 million to $1.1 billion dollars. “The sale of Kiwibank could end up being extremely costly for taxpayers.... -
Key wrong to claim “full disclosure” of NZ foreign trusts
John Key’s claim that the full details of foreign trusts can be revealed is contradicted by his own Minister of Revenue who, in 2012, said IRD could only investigate dodgy trusts if it had the name of the trust it was investigating, the Green Party says. In 2012, the Green Party asked then Minister of Revenue, Peter Dunne, what specific information overseas tax officials needed to know about New Zealand foreign trusts before they could receive further information on them... -
Greens introduce Bill to end foreign trust secrecy
The Green Party will today seek the leave of Parliament to introduce a Member’s Bill that would end the secrecy around foreign trusts in New Zealand, by imposing a registration and disclosure scheme on foreign trusts. The Income Tax (Foreign Trusts Registration and Disclosure) Amendment Bill would increase transparency by requiring trustees to disclose full information about the settlors, trustees, and beneficiaries of a trust. The IRD would publish this information in an online register. “Given the immediate risks to... -
John Key wrong about Greens’ Kiwibank policy
“John Key’s got it wrong. The whole point of our policy is to strengthen Kiwibank to be a better commercial bank, not weaken it by encouraging non-commercial behaviour,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw said. “John Key is being deliberately alarmist and making things up because he doesn’t have his own plan for improving banking for Kiwis. “The evidence from Kiwibank’s first few years shows how wrong John Key is. Back then, capital injections and lower dividends helped Kiwibank compete commercially... -
Greens will repurpose Kiwibank and save Kiwis hundreds of millions
The Green Party will strengthen Kiwibank so that it can compete with the big four foreign owned banks leading to better interest rates, the Green Party said today. To achieve better bank interest rates, the Green Party will: Inject a further $100 million of capital in Kiwibank to speed its expansion into commercial banking; Allow Kiwibank to keep more of its profits to help it grow faster; and, Give Kiwibank a clear public purpose to lead the market in passing... -
Govt has no idea how much tax multinationals are avoiding
The National Government has admitted it has no idea of the amount of tax it is missing out on from multinational companies that are avoiding paying their fair share of tax, the Green Party said today. Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse was unable to answer questions in the House today from James Shaw on the amount of lost tax revenue from multinational companies. Herald investigative reporter Matt Nippert estimated the amount of missing tax could be close to $500 million per... -
Govt should move now to start closing multinational tax loopholes
The Government can close some of the loopholes multinational companies are using to avoid paying their fair share of tax by adopting similar measures to Australia, the Green Party said today. Australia passed new legislation in December 2015 to target multinational companies that are avoiding paying regular company tax rates. Multinationals now face 100 percent tax penalties if caught shifting profits, along with new transparency and reporting requirements to give the Australian Tax Office (ATO) a better picture of how... -
Govt warned of multinational tax rort in 2013
The IRD warned the Government in 2013 of massive, systematic tax avoidance by multinational companies but National is still to act on it, the Green Party said today. The New Zealand Herald today released analysis that showed multinational companies operating in New Zealand could have avoided paying up to $500 million in tax last year. The IRD warned both the Ministers of Finance and Revenue in 2013 that multinationals were avoiding tax by profit shifting and that work to protect...