Only 58 days to go! Yep, only 58 days until it’s time to knock off for summer (we’re not ready to say the ‘C’ word just yet…). Yep, we are into the final quarter for the 2024 calendar year. For a lot of businesses and households, the year to date has been a bit of […]

Answer the damn phone Tried to call an insurance company lately? Or maybe a utility? Or heaven forbid, a bank? There’s a good chance that you’ll settle into listening to some obligatory hold music as you curse whatever has required you to make the call. If your experience with customer service standards have slipped, you’re […]

Tax rate changes In a move that was well telegraphed by the finance minister, personal income tax rates are changing today (as in, 31 July). The line was much touted during electioneering was that they were combatting ‘bracket creep’– this is effectively where the effects of inflation cause your personal tax rate to increase – […]

Mind(set) over matter It seems that just about every political commentator has shifted their focus to full on ‘kicking the economy when it’s down’. Even property commentators (who make a living off the narrative that the economic conditions are perfect for buying) are conceding that times are tough. And the evidence stacks up – for […]

The *yawn* budget In case you missed it, yesterday was budget day. On a good day it can be difficult to get excited by a government budget, and it looks like yesterday wasn’t a good day. There were some tax cuts that were well telegraphed beforehand – more on these below, some cash for building […]

If you are involved with a Trust that generates income, the rate of tax is changing for most trusts to 39%. There is an exemption for trusts that generate less than $10,000 in profit and disables beneficiary trusts – both of these stay at 33%.  Charitable trusts continue to be exempt from income tax. For our […]

Every headline seems to be doom and gloom at present.  Job losses here, belt tightening there.  And while the Reserve Bank would have us believe that inflation is getting under control, we now are faced with something (maybe) more insidious – shrinkflation.  Shrinking chocolate bars?  Grim. Slight sarcasm aside, the underlying data is a little […]

NZ’s minimum wage increases again on the 1st of April 2024.  This means if members of your team are paid the minimum, they are about to get a pay rise.  The new minimum wage is going to $23.15 per hour. If you’ve got minimum wage employees, then this will be of help Not sure about […]

Don’t get caught! As each month passes, the online world seems to get evermore sophisticated.  And by sophisticated, we mean complicated. While ‘online’ has become an integral part of how we live and how business is conducted, nefarious use of this space has more than kept pace with our ability to combat it.  Or put more […]

Ahhh, summer.  A great time to relax, unwind and reflect.  And it’s that last one – reflecting – that can be so important to how we fare in the future.  Many of us think about what this year will bring – how it could be better than the last; perhaps you want to be more […]