New Zealand: Parliament Considers Omnibus Tax Bill with Key Reforms
The New Zealand Parliament accepted Bill No. 73-1, an omnibus tax bill, for consideration. The bill proposes several significant measures, including:
- Setting income tax rates for the 2024-2025 tax year at current levels for individuals, corporations, trusts, investments, and various withholding taxes.
- Implementing the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CARF) starting from the 2026-2027 tax year.
- Introducing a “scheme pays” option allowing migrants to elect for the provider of their Qualifying Recognized Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) to pay a flat 28% New Zealand tax on transferred pension funds, effective April 1, 2026.
- Increasing thresholds for the exempt employee share regime, raising the annual maximum value of shares provided to employees to NZ$7,500 (US$4,675) and the maximum discount on share market value to NZ$3,000 (US$1,870), effective for share offers made from April 1, 2025.
Source: govt.nz
VAT/GST rates 2024 in Oceania
| Country | Standard VAT/GST Rate |
| Australia | Australia has a Goods and Services Tax (GST) which is equivalent to a VAT. The standard GST rate is 10%. |
| Cook Islands | The standard VAT rate is 15%, |
| New Zealand | The standard Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate is 15% |
| Samoa | VAGST rate of 15% |
| Vanuatu | The standard VAT rate is 15% |