Tax reform

The New Zealand tax team advocacy focus is wide ranging. The future sustainability of the tax base is an important medium- to long-term issue, given changing demographics. Broader tax reform is needed to encourage greater investment into New Zealand’s infrastructure and productive businesses. Simplification of tax administration in an increasingly digital environment and tax compliance cost-reduction measures are also important. The reimagining and simplification of fringe benefit tax is a key advocacy plank. Finally, meaningful taxation reform is not possible without change to the current Treasury fiscal costing framework, given the government focus on fiscal constraint.

Incorporated societies re-registration 

The Incorporated Societies Act 2022 requires all 24,000 incorporated societies to reregister by 5 April 2026 or face deregistration. Given the low levels of reregistration at the time of writing and the consequences of deregistration, we continue to advocate for a one-year extension to this deadline, along with a supporting education and awareness-raising program, particularly for smaller incorporated societies.

Digital reporting 

With most investors worldwide now using tech and AI-driven systems for research and discovery, New Zealand needs a consistent, machine-readable, structured dataset to be visible and attract capital.

There is a modest cost to implement digital reporting that has decreased with technological advances and the benefits now overwhelmingly exceed the drawbacks. CA ANZ will continue to advocate for the introduction of mandatory digital financial reporting for FMC reporting entities.

Climate reporting 

Aotearoa New Zealand was at the forefront of climate reporting, as one of the first countries to mandate climate-related financial disclosures. Since then, several adjustments have been made.

Ongoing extensions to the adoption provisions and the volume of consultation on potential amendments to the regime have caused uncertainty and resulted in some climate reporting entities slowing down their efforts to meet the requirements. To maintain momentum, it is important to resist the temptation to dilute requirements or delay implementation further. Instead, the focus should be on support, clear guidance and ensuring alignment with global standards.

Auditor liability reform

Local auditors currently face unlimited joint and several liability. This is out of step with international practice, and is an impediment to attracting firms and professionals to take on this key role in an already thin market of licensed auditors. We will continue to advocate for a targeted legislative amendment to enable the introduction of a capped liability regime for auditors of FMC reporting entities.

Anti-money laundering

Although we are broadly supportive of the move to a single supervisor, our advocacy continues to highlight the importance of retaining sector-specific knowledge for effective supervision and maintaining confidence among reporting entities. We seek transparency on how the transition to a single supervisor will be managed, including how sector-specific risks and needs will be accommodated.

The design of the levy for the anti-money laundering/combating financing of terrorism regime is critical, given the impact it will have on reporting entities that already bear significant AML/CFT compliance costs.

Education win after multi-year advocacy

We have long advocated for curriculum reform and welcomed the announcement that accounting would be reinstated as a standalone Level 1 subject from 2028. With a forecasted shortage of 15,000 accountants in New Zealand in the next five years, the reinstatement of accounting at Level 1 will support efforts to strengthen the pipeline of talent into a profession with huge career and earning opportunities, and which is vital to New Zealand’s success.

Take away

To access our policy submissions and more on advocacy go to our CA ANZ advocacy page.