With the start of the new income tax year, we thought it would be good to revisit some of the recent significant tax changes that came into force on 1 April 2021 and to highlight some important expected changes to sick leave entitlements.
New Top Tax Rate. Individual income earned above $180,000 is now taxed at 39 percent. This threshold now matches Australia’s top tax threshold of A$180,000, but is worth noting that the Australian top tax rate is 47 percent.
Tax payers who don’t have tax deducted at source might want to consider topping up their provisional tax payments throughout the 2021 year to avoid a larger year-end tax bill.
With this new income tax rate, other changes were required to ensure that distortions were not created across other types of personal income, these are as follows:
Fringe benefit tax: The rate on amounts of all-inclusive pay over $129,681 will be 63.93% to ensure consistent treatment of cash and non‑cash remuneration.
Employer’s superannuation contribution tax and retirement savings contribution tax: ESCT and RSCT will rise to 39% on superannuation contributions made for an employee whose ESCT rate threshold exceeds $216,000.
Residential land withholding tax: RLWT will increase to 39% (except where the vendor is a company).
Resident withholding tax: All the new rates will apply from 1 April 2021 with the exception of the higher RWT rate on interest, which will take effect from 1 October 2021 so that payers can make changes to their systems. The non-declaration rate of 39% will remain the same.
There will also be a new tax code for secondary income earners whose total PAYE exceeds $180,000.
Other personal income tax thresholds and rates remain unchanged.
Increased Disclosure Requirements for Trusts
In addition to the introduction of the new Trusts Act 2019, which came into force on 30 January 2021, Inland Revenue (IR) now require trusts to provide more information on their annual returns for the 2021-2022 income year onwards. Essentially this means that IR will pay closer attention to family trusts to see if the right amount of tax is being paid across associated tax payers.
The additional information required includes distributions and settlements made in the income year; and profit and loss statements and balance sheets. The Commissioner can also request information from trusts for prior years back to the 2013-2014 tax year as appropriate. This allows for comparable information to be gathered.
The increased disclosure requirements do not apply to non-active trusts, charitable trusts and trusts eligible to be Maori authorities.
Minimum wage has increased
The adult minimum wage has increased by $1.10 to $20 per hour. The starting-out and training minimum wage has risen to $16 per hour so it remains at 80 percent of the adult minimum wage.
Income abatement threshold for benefit payments has increased
Prior to 1 April there was a tiered abatement threshold ranging from $90 to $115 before tax each week, dependent upon individual/family circumstances. The threshold is now $160 before tax each week for the following benefit categories: Jobseeker support, Sole parent support, Supported Living payment, Veteran’s pension under 65, and NZ Super/Veteran’s pension with a non-qualifying partner.
Youth Payment and Young Parent Payment are not affected as they have different income abatement rules.
Family tax credit
The family tax credit has increased to a minimum of $566 per week for families who work full-time and do not otherwise receive a benefit (this is to ensure they are on a higher income than if they received a benefit).
Upcoming changes to sick leave entitlements
The Holidays (Increasing Sick Leave) Amendment Bill (“the Bill”) is currently before the Select Committee of the New Zealand Parliament and is under review.
The bill primarily seeks to double the minimum number of sick days available to employees from 5 to 10 days per annum, after they have worked with an employer for six months.
The bill does not propose any changes to an employee’s entitlement to roll-over their sick leave each year. The maximum amount of sick leave an employee can hold unused is 20 days.
The changes are primarily in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the request for changes to the minimum numbers of sick days has long been a topic of public interest and is reflective of the ongoing call for greater care and treatment for workers. It should be noted that New Zealand has comparatively less sick leave days than many other OECD nations. For example, Australians are entitled to 10 days per year and the balance of leave is carried over with no limitation to how many days can be held unused.
Keep an eye out for the changes later on this year when the bill is expected to come into effect. For more information on any of the above topics, please contact us at Johnston Associates. (LOGAN GRANGER)
JOHNSTON ASSOCIATES, 202 Ponsonby Road, T: 09 361 6701, www.jacal.co.nz
Disclaimer – While all care has been taken, Johnston Associates Chartered Accountants Ltd and its staff accept no liability for the content of this article; always see your professional advisor before taking any action that you are unsure about.
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