| Pay As You Earn (PAYE) subsidy. |
On 1 October 2006, IRD established new Pay As You Earn (PAYE) subsidy rules to allow small employers to outsource their PAYE compliance obligations and focus their efforts on their business and reduce late or incorrect penalties on small businesses. |
IRD |
| Perception that vehicle ownership and vehicle service licensing rules do not protect second or subsequent owners of a vehicle, are inflexible, and create burdens for business. |
Cabinet has agreed to tighten up the offence provision for non-notification of vehicle ownership change and create an offence for this, enforceable by Police, local authorities and Land Transport New Zealand. This will be an amendment to the Transport (Vehicle and Driver Registration and Licensing) Act 1986 to be introduced in mid 2007.
Regulations have recently been amended which fix problems arising from a legal technicality which removed the eligibility of certain dealers (primarily boat and trailer dealers) to hold trade plates.
A new definition of what constitutes a "goods service" vehicle for licensing will take effect from September 2007 in the new Operator Licensing Rule. This will remove goods service licensing requirements from all vehicles with a gross laden weight of under 6000kg regardless of whether the vehicle is being used for hire and reward. |
Transport |
| Unnecessary disruption to the wine industry by excise duty being increased each year on 1 June and ALAC levies being amended on 1 July. |
The Customs and Excise Amendment Bill, currently before the house, proposes that excise duty be increased each year on 1 July. |
Customs |
| Perceived inadequacy of gaming machine expenses. |
A joint working party comprising the Department of Internal Affairs, the Charity Gaming Association and the Hospitality Association is reviewing the current expenses regime to ensure that it is fair and continues to deliver on the Gambling Act's objectives and requirements (including the requirement that expenses be minimised in order to maximise the return to community purposes). |
DIA |
| Risks to businesses employing foreign workers proffering IRD numbers and using these numbers on forms, even though, unknown to the business, the people were working in New Zealand illegally. |
To reduce the potential compliance costs on employers, Cabinet agreed to allow the DoL to disclose to a potential employer that an identifiable, non-citizen prospective employee is entitled to work, and the duration of that entitlement (without explicit consent from the prospective employee). This will enable DoL to develop an electronic system that enables employers to verify entitlements to work, and the duration of entitlements via the Internet. |
DoL |
| The perceived inflexibility of the DoL temporary work (including Working Holiday) policy and seasonal work policy. |
DoL will review temporary work policy for low/unskilled occupations and report back by May 2007. Working Holiday schemes will also be reviewed, and the DoL will report back on this in late 2007.
The implementation of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) policy to make employing seasonal workers easier, due to start by April 2007, will include an information and education campaign to help employers learn how the new policy works. The RSE policy will be open to the horticulture and viticulture sectors only, but a review of the immigration work policy relating to other sectors that utilise low-skilled labour is also underway. |
DoL |
| Concerns that the New Zealand Food Safety Authority's (NZFSA) regulations for wine production are too prescriptive. |
NZFSA has worked closely with the grape wine industry body to ensure that the regulations and notices are both practical and suitable for wine making and are the minimum needed to meet the objectives of the Wine Act 2003. One of the principal features of the new programme will be a requirement for wine makers to operate under a wine standards management plan (WSMP), which can be tailored to meet the requirements of individual wineries. It is expected that once WSMPs are fully implemented in December 2008, many issues related to prescriptive regulation will be resolved. Once winemakers obtain a WSMP, they will be exempt from the Food Hygiene Regulations. |
NZFSA |
| Concerns from within the hospitality sector about inconsistencies across the food regulatory system, and about the cost and amount of work required to comply with the Food Hygiene Regulations (particularly the differing application of the Regulations in the jurisdictions of different Territorial Authorities). |
NZFSA is currently working on proposals for new food legislation as part of an extensive Domestic Food Review (DFR). The DFR represents the first comprehensive examination of the Government's role in the New Zealand food sector in over twenty years. The intended outcome of this review is the design of a new regulatory system to replace the Food Act 1981 and the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974. Implementation is expected to begin in late 2007.
Proposals for the new regulatory system centre around the requirement for "persons" producing, manufacturing, retailing or preparing food for sale, to register and operate under Food Control Plans (FCPs). The kind of plan the "person" operates under will be determined by the kind of business they operate. FCPs will be registered by Territorial Authorities and there is an expectation that the new system will provide for greater consistency across the country. |
NZFSA |
| Business perceptions of strict and inflexible border requirements for plant and plant material. |
In June 2006 Biosecurity New Zealand released updated standards for plant exports after significant consultation with industry. These are being phased in by 1 September 2007. The revised standards are outcome-based, which gives businesses the flexibility to use their existing quality systems to satisfy export requirements as well as their other commercial needs. NZFSA's requirements will be similar to Biosecurity New Zealand's new standards. This approach minimises duplication within the industry organisation's procedures, allows greater flexibility and enables businesses to decide how to manage the risks.
The updated Biosecurity New Zealand export standards also provide consistency with NZFSA on the requirements for the Independent Verification Agencies (IVA) accreditation. The new Biosecurity New Zealand standards enable IVAs to undertake multiple audits (e.g. EurepGAP, residue and phytosanitary) in one visit. |
MAF |
| Duplicative paperwork filing under the Patents Bill. |
MED proposes amendments to the Patents Bill to reflect worldwide developments and move to an entirely electronic register instead of current duplicative paperwork filing. |
MED |
| Uncertainly business obligations under the Kiwi Saver scheme. |
Inland Revenue is providing extensive information to employers and employees on KiwiSaver prior to its introduction in July 2007 to ensure that employers are adequately informed about its implications. |
IRD |
| Poorly understood ACC information for businesses. |
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) proposes to provide more understandable and easily accessible information to businesses about its services and how it sets workplace levies. This will involve reviewing packs sent to new employers, newsletters, online service improvements and road shows. |
ACC |
| Inland Revenue identification cards of proof of legitimacy to work or tax exemption for contractors are easy for workers to alter and forge. However, companies are held responsible if the letter and card are altered. |
To address this, the certificate of exemption has been redesigned and in future will be issued with a holographic foil surface. This surface will give a distorted image if it is photocopied or scanned. The new certificates will make it easier for companies to ensure that the certificate they are sighting is the original. Inland Revenue is also investigating a web-based system that could validate certificates. |
IRD |
| Timely recruitment of foreign workers. |
In the area of immigration, DoL is working on a new business model, which would help with consistency, timeliness and increase the use of technology for both immigration officers and customers. Part of this will involve better informing businesses about avenues for recruiting foreign workers. Interim visas for applicants whose permits lapse before their next application is decided could also be introduced. Proposals are also under development to address delays in the processing of Approval in Principle applications. |
DoL |
| Businesses perceive there to be strict and inflexible border requirements for plant and plant material and that the Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry's (MAF) verification processes are onerous and inefficient. |
The intended integration of Biosecurity New Zealand and MAF Quarantine Service by the end of 2007.
Proposals to address current problems with the Biosecurity Act/Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act interface covering the importation of new organisms.
Working with the Industry Plant Import Action Group to develop solutions to the issues in their recent report. |
MAF |
| Reducing business compliance costs using standard business reporting, Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ). |
Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ), IRD and MED are proposing to work on three pilots that will test this reduction. The pilots will include the encouragement of electronic filing using the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) technology.
Stats NZ is also developing a respondent load strategy that examines how Stats NZ can continue to minimise business survey burden. |
Statistics New Zealand |