The Indian Weekender, Friday 31 July 2020

6 NEW ZEALAND
After JobStart, National
announces BusinessStart
policy as part of economic
recovery plan
SANDEEP SINGH
The National Party has announced a new BusinessStart
policy as part of its economic recovery plan offering a
support of up to $30,000 for starting new business.
This was announced by Party Leader Judith Collins in Lower
Hutt on Wednesday, July 29.
“National’s BusinessStart will help Kiwis who have lost their
jobs since 1 March 2020, or lose their jobs in the months ahead,
to set up a small business with at least $30,000 available to help
you buy kit, make sure you have some working capital, and lower
your taxes in the early stages, as you start to become successful.
“The $30,000 will come from a combination of KiwiSaver
savings, tax credits and taxpayers’ funds.”
Under BusinessStart, National will make available to all
Kiwis who have lost their job since 1 March 2020, or who those
lose their jobs in the months ahead, a $1000 voucher for them
to get proper financial advice from a Chartered Accountant or
Registered Financial Adviser on their ideas, and put together a
viable business plan.
Once those business plans are signed off, BusinessStart
recipients can access up to $20,000 of their own money from
their KiwiSaver account to help get their business going and at
least $10,000 in tax credits to pay GST or provisional tax when
the business starts making a profit.
Notably, the National Party had earlier in May announced a
Job start policy which promised to give businesses/employers
$10,000 for each full time permanent new job created within the
business.
BusinessStart would provide the basics
for new businesses to get going, Collins
said.
“No government ever creates jobs, you,
the business owners of New Zealand, do that.
“National wants to back you, as you back
yourselves and your mates to get this country
working again.”
No more international students for
year 2020: Govt announces $51.6m
for international education sector
SANDEEP SINGH
Govt has signalled the beleaguered
international education sector not to
expect any more international students
for the remainder of the year.
This was announced in a press briefing
earlier this afternoon by Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern, Minister for Education Chris Hipkins
while releasing a long-term strategic recovery
plan, backed by $51.6 million investment from
the COVID recovery and response fund.
“The Government is acutely aware of the
challenges the sector is currently facing,” Chris
Hipkins said.
“We are sensitive to the impact the
unexpected loss of revenue will have had on
international education providers and the
investment announced today will help cushion
the blow.
“New Zealand’s international education
sector has an opportunity to benefit from the
strong international reputation we have gained
through our handling of the COVID-19 crisis.”
According to a break-down of this $50
million funding received from the office of
Education Minister Mr Hipkins a whopping
$20 million will be going towards state and
state-integrated schools while Private Training
Institutes (PTEs) will be receiving $10 million.
There is no dedicated support for the
universities.
Govt support for marketing & promotion of
international education
Despite no more intake for international
students this year the government has decided
to support with a $3 million funding support
for or marketing activities to keep New
Zealand’s education brand visible in key
“Their future KiwiSaver contributions will be tax-free until
they have repaid the amount they took out.
“The second thing we will do is if you have been made
redundant, we will give you the entire taxed portion of your
redundancy as a tax credit with the IRD. If your redundancy is
say $150,000, that could be as much as $50,000 tax credit. You
will then be able to use that to pay GST or provisional tax when
you start making a profit.”
Collins said given all the incentives it was offering, National
was sure banks would compete to give people a decent finance
package.
She said running a small business was still “not for the fainthearted”
- that was why contestable business mentoring fund was
available.
“What we then want is for BusinessStart recipients to take on
a mate using JobStart. That’s another $10,000 if you do that.”
Small businesses could grow much faster than large businesses,
and that was of economic benefit, she said.
National said it would extend the proposed JobStart scheme to
"New Zealand’s
international
education sector has
an opportunity to
benefit from the strong
international reputation
we have gained through
our handling of the
COVID-19 crisis.
markets while travel is restricted. Allowing
students in some cases to study from home
country The government is also working in the
direction of allowing international students to
continue studies from their home country in
some cases.
This initiative will be part of a $10 million
to develop new future-focused products and
services to drive growth in international
education system.
"National
wants to back
you, as you back
yourselves and your mates
to get this country working
again. Their future KiwiSaver
contributions will be
tax-free until they have
repaid the amount they
took out"
Friday, July 31, 2020
The Indian Weekender
end in March 2022 rather than March 2021.
Money for the BusinessStart scheme would be part of the
proposed $500 million cost of the JobStart scheme, taken from
the Covid-19 recovery fund.
BusinessStart would begin on 1 November 2020 and run for
through to the end of March in 2022.
Sky Tower to lit in green and white
again on Muslim festival Eid-ul-Adha
RIZWAN MOHAMMAD
Muslims in New Zealand will
celebrate its second biggest festival
in the Islamic calendar, Eid-ul-Adha
on Saturday, August 1.
Sky Tower, the tallest free-standing structure
in the Southern Hemisphere based in central
Auckland will lit up in green and white lights
in a gesture of celebration and support towards
the Muslim community living in New Zealand.
A press release from SkyCity entertainment
group confirmed that Sky Tower would be lit in
green and white on Friday, July 31, in honour of
Eid-ul-Adha- a religious holiday celebrated by
Muslims around the world and also marks the
pilgrimage to Hajj.
Javed Dadabhai, Chairperson of New Zealand
Eid Day, a non-profit community organisation
hosting large scale Eid events in Auckland says
he is thrilled with the news of Sky Tower being
lit up again to honour the Muslim community
on the occasion of its religious festival.
“We are thrilled that the SkyCity will be
celebrating Eid with us again by lighting the
tower to mark an important day in the calendar
of New Zealand Muslims,” Javed Dadabhai
said.
Sky Tower lasts lit up in green and white on
the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr earlier in May this
year for two days. Following this news then,
even Eden Park came forward and lit up in
green and white for Eid-ul-Fitr.
“SkyCity lights the Sky Tower for charities
or community initiatives that we support
financially, to mark national holidays,
milestones or other celebrations or events,
or as a symbol of respect or solidarity,” a
spokesperson from SkyCity Entertainment
Group said.
Muslims in New Zealand will observe the
festival of Eid-ul-Adha by making special
congregational prayers at mosques and
community centres.
As per the traditional and religious practices
of Eid-ul-Adha, the prayers are followed by
the sacrifice of a domestic animal such as goat,
sheep, cow or camel- the meat of which is
distributed amongst family, friends and the less
fortunate on the society.
Hajj pilgrimage that usually witnesses
millions of pilgrims from all around the world
gather at Mecca is seeing only up to 10,000
worshippers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
perform the pilgrimage. The number has been
drastically dropped due to the Covid pandemic
and global travel restrictions in place.