Did you celebrate 26 May with woops of joy and champagne? Maybe you ought to have done as this was Tax Freedom Day. What’s that you might ask? It a hypothetical day in our tax calendar that supposedly marks the time when Kiwis pay off their collective tax bill. Thereafter, apparently, every dollar we earn becomes ours from that day forward. Yeah Right!
Historically, well at least for the past two years, Tax Freedom Day fell on 20 May. Prior to this, 18 May was the auspicious day. This year it’s come later, being rejoiced on 26 May. Annual calendar dates tend to stay static so why does this one alter? That nasty monster Inflation without inflation adjusted tax brackets is the culprit. Yep, inflation creates fiscal drag which pushes into higher tax brackets and ramping up our tax bills. Couple this with increased government spending and it takes longer to meet the theoretical keystone of collectively paying off our tax bill. This year, Nicola Willis put things right in the Budget, resetting the tax brackets for the first time since 2010. That said, what you save in tax bracket adjustments is unlikely to buy you a bottle of decent blonk, let alone top shelf bubbles!
National campaigned on reducing the cost of living for Kiwis, which in part it intended to bring about by adjusting income tax brackets. The Government has made good on its promise and announced in its Budget released on 30 May 2024 the adjustments to tax brackets noted below. These changes are to take effect on […]
People change banks and don’t close accounts. Individuals get sick and forget what investments they took out. People die, leaving insurance policies behind. Money sits in solicitors trust accounts and bank accounts. Money owing by IRD to individuals remains with the Commissioner. These are common examples of unclaimed monies recipients miss out on. Literally at […]