Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Inland Revenue guidance suggests hard hats could be a taxable work perk. Photo: 123RF

New Inland Revenue guidance suggesting hard hats could be a taxable work perk could confuse some employers, one tax expert says.

IRD has released an update on when fringe benefit tax (FBT) exemptions apply to employee benefits provided for health and safety reasons.

Robyn Walker, tax partner at Deloitte, said there had been some confusion about how wide that exemption would be.

Fringe benefit tax generally does not apply when the benefit being provided is related to an employee’s health and safety, aimed at managing health and safety risks, and would be excluded by an ‘on-premises exemption’ if it was provided at work.

Exemptions might apply to things like an ergonomic desk for someone working at home, or flu vaccinations.

Work clothing has a separate exemption, but only if it is “distinctive”, such as a uniform with an employer’s name on it.

Walker said IR had made it clear that it did not think protective clothing would always fit into that exemption.

In one example it gave, a road maintenance contracting business providing workers with hard hats, high-vis clothes, safety glasses and ear muffs would find they were not exempt from FBT.

Walker said it was unlikely anyone would think a hard hat required for work was an employee benefit.

She said FBT was probably not being paid on these at present.

But it seemed IRD had assumed they were a benefit, and then were working out whether an exemption would apply, rather than discussing whether there was a benefit in the first place, she said.

“It could potentially push people to just incur additional costs having to brand things in order to be absolutely clear that there is no FBT payable on something where FBT shouldn’t be payable to start with.”

IRD said it was also its view that there was a benefit to an employee when their employer paid their medical costs after a workplace accident.

Walker said that was strange.

“While good health is obviously viewed as a benefit to an individual, in the situation of an employer assisting to put right a workplace accident to reinstate an employee’s health, this does not seem like a scenario where FBT should be levied. Again, if it is concluded there is a benefit, a law change is warranted.

“If I chopped off my hand in some sort of terrible accounting photocopier accident I would expect that, if it’s due to a fault of the photocopier that I’ve lost my finger or whatever it is then the employer should be paying my medical cost to rectify that.

“Is there a benefit where your health has been negatively impacted by a workplace accident to restore your health? It’s hard to say there’s a benefit if I have my finger chopped off and have it put back on. I start with 10 fingers, I go down to nine and I end up with 10. I’m not actually better off in that scenario.

“FBT should apply when the employer is doing something for the employee which saves them from having to incur their own private expenditure on something. And so I would say I shouldn’t have to pay to get my finger attached because my fingers were all attached to start with and if I’m going to work on a construction site, I should be provided with everything that I required in order to go home at the end of the day without concussion, with all my fingers, my toes haven’t been sliced off.

“Working in a freezing works, I should be able to have some gloves provided and there shouldn’t be any tax on that. I’m not saving myself any private expenditure by having the employer provide what is required to do the job.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Many of the scientists and engineers made redundant have been snapped up by organisations overseas. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Callaghan Innovation’s shutdown has so far cost taxpayers more than $10 million in redundancy payouts for 209 roles lost, according to recently published documents.

The crown-owned science and innovation entity has been a casualty of the Government’s overhaul of the science sector, which has also seen the merging of Crown Research Institutes into Public Research Organisations and a newly established advanced technology institute.

While some functions of Callaghan Innovation were retained, other parts have been wound up over the past year, with all funding expected to end by mid-2027.

Documents released to the Public Service Association (PSA) under the Official Information Act (OIA) revealed Callaghan Innovation’s dissolution has cost $10.69m in redundancies since November 2023.

Callaghan Innovation has confirmed the numbers in the OIA, made public by the PSA on Friday, but offered no further comment.

The OIA documents showed 36 redundancies in the 2023/24 financial year cost $2.87m, the axing of 162 roles in 2024/2025 cost $5.72m and so far this year, $2.1m has been spent with the loss of 11 roles.

More payouts were expected, as roles continued to be disestablished into 2026.

They said the future impact and total cost of Callaghan’s closure was unknown, as “redundancies continue to be processed on a regular basis”.

The documents said Callaghan had spent $68,913 since October 2023 on external consultants advising on restructures – the figure also included other legal advisory services.

The OIA showed roles at Callaghan had dropped from 367 to 158 – a reduction of 57 percent – over two years, with more than 60 jobs axed in February, followed by a proposal to cut a further 67 in April.

PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the OIA had revealed the “staggering cost” of layoffs.

“This is an obscene waste of money from a government, which claims to want to spend taxpayer money wisely,” she said.

“More importantly, this is a critical loss of expert scientists and researchers, who had more to give New Zealand. It will set New Zealand back for years.”

According to the PSA, the 209 job cuts at Callaghan Innovation included the chief scientist, among 114 scientists and researchers, and contributed to the loss of 650 research roles in the public sector – a figure that the Science Minister’s office could not confirm.

Ben Wylie-van Eerd, a former Callaghan scientist and union delegate who was made redundant this year, said the country had lost talented scientists and engineers.

“Many of my colleagues have moved overseas, and have been snapped up quickly by organisations in Europe and Australia, where their skills are valued.

“Sadly, I don’t think they’ll be looking to come back any time soon.”

In response to the OIA, Science Minister Shane Reti said New Zealand’s science system was undergoing its most significant reform in more than three decades, which would make it more effective and create opportunities long-term.

“To better support and incentivise innovation for future economic growth, the government made the decision to disestablish Callaghan Innovation, and redistribute its key functions to other parts of the science, innovation and technology system.”

He said Callaghan Innovation was spread thinly across conflicting functions and “struggled to work to a clear, focused purpose”, tasked with delivering grants, advice, technical services and research, as well as innovation support for businesses.

Reti said the government had invested $70m for artificial intelligence research, and $71m for future materials and magnet technology, as part of the new Institute of Advanced Technology, and $42m for a new biodiscovery platform.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Photo: Sealord

Sealord has confirmed 48 job losses as the company makes parts of its Nelson operations seasonal.

Sealord last month announced that it was closing its coated fish factory, resulting in the loss of 79 jobs.

The company originally proposed cutting a further 59 jobs under plans to operate its wetfish and by-products factories and fresh fish trawler during the hoki season from May to September, instead of year-round.

On Friday Sealord confirmed the final number of job losses was 48, saying staff were told in mid-October.

The wetfish factory will close in December and reopen in May.

In September chief executive Doug Paulin said the move to seasonal operations meant the company could retain most of its Nelson-based operations, including cold and dry store and office-based support roles, instead of closing the site completely.

“In total we would retain 81 permanent jobs and 400 seasonal roles and save over 90 percent of the economic benefits to the region,” he said.

Paulin said export products produced at the Nelson wetfish factory were loss-making every month, except in hoki season.

The loss had been exacerbated with recent price drops at the same time as sharp rises in costs and falling volumes of fish for harvesting and processing outside of hoki season.

The region has been rocked by job cuts in recent months, with Carter Holt Harvey telling staff in August it would shut its Eves Valley Sawmill, resulting in the loss of 142 jobs.

In September Griffin’s Snacks told staff it planned to close the Nelson factory that produces Proper Crisps, with operations moving to Auckland from late 2027, affecting 47 staff and Māori food and beverage company Kono announced it would wind down brewing operations at Motueka-based craft brewery Hop Federation from October with the loss of five jobs.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Treasury secretary Iain Rennie. Photo: RNZ

The Treasury has warned the strength of the Crown’s balance sheet is likely to deteriorate if policy settings are not changed.

Its 2025 Investment Statement found liabilities were forecast to rise 33 percent by 2029 to $504 billion, as the debt grows to fund investment spending and operating deficits.

The increase in liabilities was also projected to outpace the increase in assets, with net worth expected to fall 10 percent to $172b.

As at June 2024, assets on the Crown’s balance sheet totalled $571b, and liabilities were $380b.

The ‘social’ portfolio spread $314b worth of assets across 141 entities such as transport, housing, education, and health.

$99b of assets were in the ‘commercial’ portfolio, which included “services related to strategic policy objectives, in a commercial manner,” such as Air New Zealand and the gentailers.

The ‘financial’ portfolio, which included entities like the Reserve Bank, ACC, and the Superannuation Fund, held $158b of assets, but also $280b of liabilities, accounting for 74 percent of the total.

The Treasury said there were ageing assets in the social portfolio that were becoming unfit for purpose, the commercial portfolio’s entities did not always meet performance expectations, and the financial portfolio held assets and liabilities facing different risks.

The balance sheet had more than doubled in size over the last decade, but assets and liabilities were projected to grow at a slower rate over the next ten years.

Since the last investment statement in 2022, assets had increased by 30 percent ($132b). Treasury said that was driven mainly by growth in physical assets, and more than half of that growth was down to revaluations, largely due to inflationary pressures.

Liabilities had increased by 35 percent ($98b), to fund investment and operating deficits.

Treasury secretary Iain Rennie said as demands on public services and investment had changed, the balance sheet had become increasingly important, and challenging to manage.

“The Investment Statement shows we need to improve our asset management – to get more value from existing investments, ensure we’re investing in the right assets, and improve our risk management and understanding.”

The Treasury suggested changes to balance sheet management in order to maintain New Zealand’s credit rating, and prepare the Crown for any shocks.

The suggestions are largely procedural, mostly focusing on “better” or “consistent” information and monitoring.

This included changes to decision-making processes, such as more consistent approaches to long-term planning across agencies, better business case development, and improving the information of assets, liabilities, and risks.

The Treasury also called for better asset management, saying some assets were underperforming, poorly maintained, and lacking quality information. It suggested more regular reviews of assets, clarifying the purpose of government ownership for each commercial entity, and adopting a more formal capital recycling programme.

“A formal capital recycling programme may be useful where government reallocates or reinvests capital from existing assets or infrastructure projects into new opportunities or projects to meet policy

objectives,” the report said.

“In this way assets that are no longer required or have limited ownership value are not retained. This can avoid the often increased operating and maintenance costs from ongoing ownership.”

The statement also said the Crown could manage the risks on its balance sheet better by centralising the management, and stress testing the combined fiscal balance sheet.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Briscoe Group owns Briscoes home goods and Rebel Sports. Photo: Hazel Redmond Photographer

Retailer Briscoe Group sales dropped in the third-quarter sales, as consumers pulled back spending on sports goods.

• Total group Q3 sales $171.0m (-1.8%)
• Homeware sales +1.8%, sports -7.3%
• Group sales for nine months $542m (-0.7%)
• Re-affirms full-year profit forecast of about $60m

Managing director Rod Duke said the three months ended September were a mixed trading environment, with consumers buying household staples, but cutting back on discretionary spending, like sporting goods.

Duke said the group, which owns Briscoes home goods and Rebel Sports, switched strategy in the third quarter, from discounting prices to make sales to earning more on lower volumes.

“With inventory in excellent shape at half-year, we made a strategic decision to shift focus from driving top-line sales to stabilising gross profit margin percentage,” he said.

That led to a fall in sales for the three months, but homeware sales grew by 1.8 percent and margins on sports goods improved markedly, despite lower volumes.

“Both segments have maintained the quality and level of inventory heading into our critical fourth quarter. The decision means homeware and sports goods are well placed for the festive season.”

He said he was satisfied with the group’s overall performance over the first three quarters, especially as consumer confidence remained low.

“With sales less than one percent behind last year, gross profit margin stabilised, inventory in great shape and transformative projects well progressed, we are well placed to maximise the final quarter.”

He hoped recent interest rate cuts would boost consumer confidence and lift spending in the key holiday season.

Briscoe Group maintained its full-year profit forecast of of about $60m.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Plenty Foods promises to employ 40 staff, mostly from the local community. Photo: Supplied by Plenty Foods

The owner of a new, independent Upper Hutt supermarket hopes he can offer locals an alternative to the big supermarket duopoly.

Plenty Foods supermarket opened in Brewtown on Thursday, the second Hutt Valley store in the portfolio of Wellington businessman Henry Hutcheon, who also owns Supersave in Naenae.

Despite a few technical issues, Hutcheon told Nine to Noon the opening went well.

“Unfortunately, the database we had errored out first thing in the morning, so we had to basically rebuild our entire database of all the products we had on the shelves – which takes a lot of time.”

Hutcheon said he would hire 40 staff to work at the store and he aimed to provide cheaper products for the community.

“We’ve hired most of our staff locally and we’ve got a lot of young people for the local workforce as well.

“We definitely will be working with community groups when they approach us – we will do everything in our power to make commodities cheaper and affordable for the locals.”

Hutcheon said he started working in the industry as a checkout operator in 2007, worked in supermarkets around the Wellington region, and he and his partner later bought the Supersave convenience store.

He said starting an independent supermarket was challenging the current market.

“There’s been some suppliers that have been willing to work really hard with us, there have been some that have taken a little bit of convincing and then there are some that have just proven to be very difficult,” Hutcheon said.

“I guess the bigger they are, the harder they are to deal with us – some of them have been quite disappointing.”

He said the supermarket aimed to stock “everything”, including a full produce department, butchery, bakery, fish cabinet, a hot cabinet with chickens and a cafe.

He had developed a pie with CJ’s Hangi, which the store would sell as well.

Upper Hutt mayor Peri Zee said it was great to see the supermarket stock local producers, including Dough Bakery products and The Pickery flowers.

“It’s awesome to see that they are using local businesses, which is beneficial to the local economy overall.”

She was encouraged to see a supermarket employing young people from the area and providing another option to compare prices.

“Having independently owned supermarkets is really helpful for that competition, because clearly, we have a competition problem in the supermarket sector.

“Having extra players come in is awesome and can be really helpful to reduce costs.”

Brewtown was a growing brewery precinct in Upper Hutt, she said, which had developed over the past few years to include a Sunday farmers’ market and event spaces.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand