What did the PM tell his lawyer about foreign trusts?

The Government stopped the IRD from reviewing New Zealand foreign trusts shortly after the Prime Minister’s lawyer wrote to the Revenue Minister claiming John Key had promised him the regime would not be changed.

Correspondence obtained by the Green Party shows that the Prime Minister’s lawyer Ken Whitney initiated a lobbying campaign that started with the Prime Minister and appears to have successfully stopped the IRD from reforming the foreign trust regulations in 2015.

“This shows how powerful vested interests can get the ear of the Government who will then change its plans to suit them,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw said.

“I want the Prime Minister to tell New Zealand whether he gave Mr Whitney an assurance that the foreign trusts industry would not be reformed and if so, why he hasn’t been upfront about the assurances he gave.

“Ordinary people, those who care about child poverty or about the environment and want the Government to change its policies, do not get this kind of access or this kind of immediate response to their concerns.”

Within 24 hours of Mr Whitney writing to then Revenue Minister Todd McClay claiming to have got an assurance from the Prime Minister, Mr McClay had emailed the IRD warning that he didn’t want it to close the foreign trusts industry.

Five months later, despite IRD expressing serious concerns about risks to New Zealand’s reputation as a perceived tax haven, its review of foreign trusts was over.

“Today’s revelations point to the need for the new John Sherwin investigation into foreign trusts to be broadened to include a panel of experts, and with the opportunity for the public to have a say.

“Ultimately, this is about the integrity of our political system. New Zealanders need to be able to trust that our political system works for them, as well as those with power and influence,”  Mr Shaw said.

Latest Finance Announcements

Story

Tax the banks

Instead of creating an appeal fund and one-off lotto draw, the Labour Government could tax the billions of dollars banks have made in unearned, exc...
Read More

Story

Urgent action needed to support families

 The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party ...
Read More

Story

BPS constraints risk impacting low income people the most

The Government will constrain itself unnecessarily at Budget 2023 unless it changes the tax system to raise revenue from the wealthiest few which c...
Read More

Story

Case for excess profit tax on banks clearer than ever

The Government should adopt an excess profits tax and use any revenue raised to help people make ends meet, following the rise in the Official Cash...
Read More

Story

Tax excess profits, don’t leave it to the good will of large corporations

The Green Party is once again calling on the Government to introduce an excess profits tax and use the money to support people, rather than relying...
Read More

Story

RBNZ report strengthens case for excess profit tax and more income support

A drop in household income from rising bank interest rates further demonstrates the need for an excess profits tax, the Green Party says.
Read More