02 May May News
Where are you going? Planning Ahead I Unexpected tax windfalls I Credit Cards
Where are you going?
If you were going to go on holiday, would you start by simply heading to the airport and jumping on a plane, or would you begin by figuring out where you wanted to go? If you were going to build a house, would you start by banging nails into pieces of timber, or would you begin by designing and planning? For so many things in life, we start by making well thought out plans.
However, for some rather important aspects of life, we’re not so good at planning and preparing.
For example, take running a business. The evidence is overwhelming in support of business plans contributing to success. Despite this, very few businesses spend any time, effort or energy on coherent planning. Even though the research says that doing so would enhance their success.
So, want to be more successful? Whether it be in a career, business, or life in general, a coherent plan is the place to start. Not sure how? Get in touch!
Unexpected (tax) windfalls
With much PR splash, IRD have just completed the next step of the upgrade to their old computer. They now have a fancy new website and are using a new IT platform for a number of tax types.
However, seldom do IT projects go completely to plan – especially government ones. Whether it is because of the system upgrade or unrelated human error, it appears that a number of tax refunds have been issued in error while this upgrade was taking place.
Unfortunately, the government isn’t too keen to splash its cash around (at least not above the ways it presently wastes our money!), so if you were a recipient of an unexpected tax refund, there is a very good chance that IRD will expect it back, sooner or later. And there is a good chance that if you can’t pay it when they do ask for it back, they will charge you interest. You can read about it here.
We’d love to be able to tell exactly which of our tax clients this might have affected, but while their new system is an upgrade, we would still have to figure that out manually. A rather laborious task! So, if you have received a refund that you weren’t expecting, get in touch and we will check it out for you.
That’s interesting
Ah, the old hobby horse of pointing out the cost of credit card debt… Don’t get me wrong, credit cards can be effective as a short-term finance facility. But if you’re relying on them for longer term funding, you will be paying a premium. We’ve written about this on a number of occasions as it’s well documented that us Kiwis are addicted to consumer finance. As part of our ‘day job’ we get to see the financial (and often, emotional) cost from over reliance on credit cards.
It’s nice to see someone else with similar views. If you want to scare yourself into paying off that credit card, have a read of this.
Have a fantastic May
