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Johnston Associates Chartered Accountants

Masterminding Brighter Tomorrows

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11th September 2023 by Paula Jenner

Join our Team

Join our growing team of experts!

We firmly believe that our success is a direct result of the exceptional talents and dedication of our team. That is why we are always on the lookout for accounting experts who are passionate about all things accounting and business, committed to excellence, and ready to make a significant impact on the industry.

With staff based in Nelson, Tasman, Marlborough, Waikato, the Westcoast and Christchurch, our reach spans across multiple regions in New Zealand.

Wherever you are, if you possess a passion for accounting and a drive to excel, we want to connect with you. 

For any enquiries or to learn more about the opportunities, don’t hesitate to contact us bhalliday@jacal.co.nz

Filed Under: Uncategorised

28th August 2023 by Hannah Taylor

Unsure about your ACC? We can help!

business advisory nelson marlborough

Here at Johnston Associates, we offer clients the option of being your agent for ACC purposes. ACC invoices may not always be correct and therefore you can end up paying more for your ACC levies than you need to.

The types of errors that we find are:

  • Wrong classification rates used, resulting in incorrect charging
  • Incorrect liable earnings information
  • Being double charged on PAYE and Shareholder salaries
  • Incorrect charging of levies where changes to the business structure have been made

We have also found, where a recommendation has been made to clients to consider alternative ACC products, that some clients have not followed up on that advice and are therefore not maximising the opportunities offered by the ACC legislation.

One of the services our firm offers clients is an ACC Administration and Advisory service. This involves our firm acting as your agent for all your ACC related matters. The advantages to you are:

All ACC related information will come to us on your behalf

  • We will review the invoices and ensure they are correct
  • We will advise you immediately of payments due
  • You can rest assured in the knowledge that your levies are correct, and have been minimized
  • We will advise you on the best options available to you for your ACC cover
  • We will keep you up to date with any changes in ACC legislation that may affect you

What is my ACC levy? 

Income that you receive from personal effort is liable for ACC earners’ levy.  This levy is charged to cover the cost of rehabilitation and compensation following non-work related injuries. [Read more…] about Unsure about your ACC? We can help!

Filed Under: ACC Tagged With: acc, levies

8th August 2023 by Hannah Taylor

Invest in your future TODAY!

The Government wants to give you an extra $521.43 every year into your Kiwisaver for FREE! It’s called the annual Government Contribution.

If you’re eligible, for every $1 you put into your Kiwisaver, the government will contribute $0.50 up to a maximum of $521.43 each year. If you do not contribute $1042.86 in the year, the government will still contribute 50 cents for every dollar you save. For example, if you contribute $50 you will get a government contribution of $25.

If you tick every eligibility box on this list for the year 1st July to 30th June, you’ll automatically receive the full contribution;

  • You’re a member of a Kiwisaver Scheme,
  • You’re 18 years or older,
  • You mainly live in New Zealand, 
  • You can’t make Kiwisaver retirement withdrawals yet, and 
  • You’ve contributed at least $1042.86 into your Kiwisaver account.

If you turn 18 during the year, become eligible for retirement withdrawals or join KiwiSaver part way through a year, you’ll still earn the annual Government contribution for the days that you’re eligible.

There is no application needed, no paperwork, no process. Your Kiwisaver provider will make the claim on your behalf, and the contribution will appear in your Kiwisaver account within a month.

By making sure you contribute at least $1,042.86 into your Kiwisaver account each year you could be looking at up to an additional $20,000 for your retirement!

Invest in your future TODAY, by setting you and your family up for Kiwisaver. 

Check your contributions by visiting your “MyIR Login” here https://www.ird.govt.nz/kiwisaver

Filed Under: Kiwisaver Tagged With: Kiwisaver

12th May 2020 by Mark Davies

It’s time to tax the family not the individual

The family ‘unit’ is perhaps the foundation that safe and healthy and contributing communities are built on. It is hard to argue with this. It’s time our income tax system was changed to reflect this, and to put more money back in families’ pockets.

Some countries operate an elective tax system where couples can choose to be taxed as a couple rather than as individuals. In other words they file a combined or ‘joint’ income tax return and often end up paying less tax in total due to the way personal marginal tax rates work, and the ‘averaging’ effect that filing as a couple achieves in many cases. One could make a rational argument that perhaps that taxing option should always have been available in New Zealand given the central importance of the family unit, and also on the basis of the real world economics of the family unit (and I am talking about family in the broad sense here – not the ‘nuclear family’ concept I was taught about at school).

I believe it is time to adopt this approach in New Zealand. Such an approach I think would reflect the reality of how many or perhaps most family units operate. This was the view of Peter Dunne, former Minister of Revenue. In fact he had a bill before parliament which proposed a tax credit for couples with children, which was designed to achieve something along the lines of what I have described above – a family being taxed on its ‘family income’, rather than each individual being taxed on their personal/individual income. Mr Dunne’s bill passed its first reading in 2010 and made it to Select Committee but then made it no further and then lapsed in 2017.

One of the hurdles identified in respect of that bill at the time was that supposedly under the Bill Of Rights Act such a law would discriminate against those not in a relationship with children. Really? Please forgive my ignorance – I’m not a lawyer and I’m certainly no expert on the Bill Of Rights, however to a lay person is that really “discrimination”? If so, is Working For Families also discrimination since it is in part based on the number of children you have – the same issue raised in relation to Mr Dunne’s bill?

Putting that aside, I can think of no good reason why a family with a single income earner earning $100,000 should pay significantly more tax than the same family with two income earners earning $50,000 each. Families with one primary income earner are being overtaxed. Now is the perfect time to fix that, put more money in families pockets, and have the tax laws more accurately reflecting how many families operate.

Filed Under: Tax

11th May 2020 by Mark Davies

Tax – time for change


Tax changes in recent years, at least as they have affected the typical SME and SME owners have been largely tinkering, except perhaps in respect of tightening up on rules aimed at property speculation (but which unfortunately go somewhat further then mere property speculation). However now is the time to act. Tax changes need to feature in this week’s Budget, and they need to help business owners.

Below are some ideas of some changes which I have tried to restrict to those things that would be reasonably easy to implement. So for example removing GST from so-called healthy foods, or fresh fruit and vegetables, is not there as I believe this would actually be quite complex in practice.

Some of the ideas may be met with calls that they favour wealthy business owners more than a minimum wage earner – a criticism of many tax reforms which lower the tax burden in this country. But now us not the time for those howls of protest – now is the time when we need to be incentivising and assisting those in our communities who have ideas, skills, and the willingness to take calculated business risks. These are the people that we want to encourage to start a business or expand or improve their existing one: to employ that extra person, start a now product line, enter a new market, invest in new technology, undertake some research and development, and ultimately grow our cake – increase the wealth of this country. Too often the discussion in this country seems to focus on how the cake should be sliced, rather than how we make it bigger for the benefit of all.

Tax has a role in helping grow a bigger cake, so below are some thoughts.

(I’ve not mentioned any tax rate reductions as for a variety of reasons I think these are unlikely…)

  1. Re-indexation of the tax thresholds in terms of the income figures at which tax rates start to apply, at least based on CPI or average income movements. This hasn’t been done since October 2010 – ten years ago! Backdate to 1 April 2020.
  2. Big increase in small asset writeoff deductions, and simplify the rules around how these apply. The $1,000 threshold which will apply once the current temporary (one year) increase to $5,000 finishes should be at least $10,000. Perhaps have a deduction allowed for up to $20,000 of new assets each year – similar to the legal expense deduction rule which allows up to $10,000 of deduction each year. Backdate to 1 April 2020.
  3. Depreciation loading on new assets (with the exception of buildings) of 50%, for the current and future income years.
  4. 150% deduction allowed on R&D expenditure which results in NZ owned IP.
  5. Permanent loss carry back rules for up to four years, and extension of the current temporary loss carry back rules to allow carry back for up to four years not the current one year.
  6. Allowing couples to file joint tax returns if they choose.

Comment with your thoughts on what YOU think should be in the budget.

Filed Under: Tax

6th May 2020 by Hannah Taylor

Are you a small business looking for a cash injection?

Last week the Government announced a new 12-month interest free loan product. Loans ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 are available for small businesses with less than 50 EMTs.

The key criteria to providing these loans is proving business viability before a company can borrow funds.

The Government has also made changes to the criteria for the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme, including removing the requirement for a General Security Agreement.

The basic notes for the new lending process will be released in due course. Here are the key points to take away from this;

  • The design of application forms and processes are still being completed, no doubt some forms should be available late this week
  • Applications can be made from the 12th of May 2020
  • IRD will administer and process applications for the loans.
  • $10,000 will be the base loan amount
  • Then you may borrow an additional $1,800, per full time employee (therefore you need 50 FTE employees to get the full $100,000)
  • It says the loans are available to businesses with 50 or fewer FTE staff, we assume you can have more than 50 staff, if some of them are part time as long as the equivalent FTEs are not more than 50
  • No repayments are required for the first two years
  • The first year of the loan is interest free
  • After the first year, the interest rate is 3% pa for a maximum of five years
  • You need to have had a 30% revenue reduction/hit
  • Can use it to cover Rent, Insurance, Utilities, Supplier Payments and Rates

If you want to consider taking this loan, check in with us before you start the application process. We can help run through the risks and rewards best suited to your business

Filed Under: Covid-19, Tax Tagged With: cashflow, covid-19, tax

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