COVID-19 tax proposals

The Minister of Finance today announced a business package containing proposed measures to support businesses affected by the corona virus outbreak. The tax-related measures include:

-  Reintroducing building depreciation to help encourage investment in industrial and commercial buildings.

-  Increasing the allowance to expense low value asset purchases from $500 to $5,000 for a one-year period, with a $1,000 allowance after that.

-  Relieving small business owners of the requirement to pay tax through the provisional tax system by raising the threshold from $2,500 to $5,000.

-  Allowing the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to cancel use of money interest on underpayments of tax for taxpayers unable to pay tax on time due to the outbreak. 

-  Allowing Inland Revenue to share information with government departments to help these agencies provide assistance in relation to the outbreak.

The necessary legislative amendments will be included in a Bill to be introduced soon.

For full details on these proposals, see the Beehive website.