Budget 2008 tax announcements

Personal tax cuts to take effect from 1 October this year were announced in Budget 2008. The bottom personal tax rate will be reduced from 15% to 12.5%, and the thresholds at which personal rates apply are to be raised over a period of three and a half years. Complementary changes to Working for Families tax credits will increase the amount of entitlement to the family tax credit and raise the income threshold at which abatement starts. See the media statement (PDF 226KB) - "Tax cuts for all workers on 1 October" and Fact sheet on tax relief for individuals and families (PDF 119KB).

It was also announced that a bill to be introduced in June will reduce tax-related compliance costs for businesses by raising a number of tax thresholds and remove tax impediments to the offshore expansion of New Zealand-resident businesses. See Tax changes to lower costs for NZ businesses (PDF 495KB).

The complete set of fact sheets and questions and answers on the Budget 2008 Personal Tax Package is published at www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2008/tax.

All ministerial statements contained in the Budget media kit are published at www.beehive.govt.nz/budget2008. Core Budget documents are published at www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2008.