The Budget

From a purely tax perspective there are no real surprises and indeed minimal changes:

• Trust tax rate: Confirmation that the Trust tax rate will stay at 39% from 1 April 2024, however, there is to be an adjustment for those trusts that earn less than $10,000pa and their tax rate will stay at 33%. Estates will remain at 33% for three full tax years after the death of the individual concerned. There are of course fish hooks in here that we will be watching out for. The IRD are concerned about restructuring done simply to avoid the higher tax impost.

• Tax cuts for all: This has been achieved by moving the income bands in the annual tax calculations. Simple enough, but a start date of 31 July 2024 will mean that we will have:

  • one set of tax rates for the year to 31 March 2024.

  • a composite set of rates for the year to 31 March 2025.

  • the new rates will take full effect for the year to 31 March 2026.

This change may have an impact on Provisional Tax expectations, but we must wait for IRD interpretations here.

• Working for Families: Working for Families rates have also been increased along with the usual set of changes to specialised allowances – if these are appropriate to you, they will be advised when we complete your tax returns this year.