02 Jul Halfway Already!
And just like that, the year is half over. It feels like it passed in the blink of an eye.
Now’s a great time to check your progress. How is the year going for you and your business? Are you happy with the progress you’re making? Are you going to achieve your goals for the year? (Are you clear on what your goals are for the year?!?)
6 months, that is what you have left of this year. If you’re on track – great, keep it up. But if not, now is the time to take action. If you want some help reaching your goals this year, contact us.
Business, personal and fringe benefits
A brief word on tax compliance; The recent fiasco of ANZ’s former CEO’s spending habits is a good reminder of the difference between legit business costs and personal spending. Not sure what I mean? Check out this, if nothing else, this helps explain bank charges!
We are hearing via the grapevine that personal benefits from business spending is an area that IRD are wanting to take a closer look at, as there is anecdotal evidence that many businesses aren’t playing by the rules. The former ANZ CEO’s rather frivolous spending is a very high-profile example that could be the impetus for a much wider review of a much wider number of businesses.
One area that small businesses regularly fall foul of the fringe benefit rules is around motor vehicles. There are common myths such as ‘if my car is sign-written, I don’t have to pay fringe benefit tax’, this unfortunately is untrue. With few exceptions, the IRD’s perspective is that if something gives you a personal benefit and it doesn’t form part of your salary/wages (so isn’t taxed elsewhere), there is a good chance it would be considered a fringe benefit.
Granted, most of us don’t get to accumulate vast wine collections on the company credit card or have our employer pay $100k for maintaining a company owned property that you get to reside it. However, that doesn’t mean that the rules can be completely dodged. For many of our tax clients, where we know about a potential fringe benefit, we discuss the most appropriate way to deal with it. But if you’re not sure, contact us.
