March 2024 - Bay of Plenty Business News

10 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS March 2024
Tips for ending the tax year
As another tax year draws
to a close (for those with
a standard 31 March balance
date) there are some key
things to keep in mind.
BAD DEBTS
If you have debtors that are
unlikely to pay you, these can
only be treated as deductible bad
debts if they have been fully written
off in your accounts before
year end.
IMPUTATION CREDIT
ACCOUNT
For companies, your imputation
credit account should have a nil
or credit balance at 31 March,
regardless of balance date, as a
debit balance at 31 March will
result in penalties. This should be
carefully monitored, especially if:
• you have paid out imputed
dividends
• you have received tax refunds
• there has been a loss of shareholder
continuity
DEPRECIATION
Check your fixed asset register
to ensure the correct Inland Revenue
tax depreciation rates are
being used.
New assets should be depreciated
from the beginning of the
month of acquisition, rather than
from the date of purchase. Pooled
assets can be depreciated from
the start of the year of acquisition.
If you are writing off assets,
make sure they are disposed of by
year-end.
The ability to claim tax depreciation
on commercial and industrial
buildings is expected to be
removed effective 1 April 2024 for
March balance date taxpayers.
Check your fixed asset register
and consider whether you need
to update the depreciation rates
of any relevant building assets.
Businesses with significant
building assets may need to
consider the effect of increased
taxable income on forecast tax
payments.
LOW VALUE ASSETS
Assets that cost less than $1,000
are considered “low value assets”
and can be immediately deducted,
rather than depreciated. If multiple
low value assets are purchased
at the same time from the
same supplier, the combined cost
must be less than $1,000 for the
immediate deduction to apply.
TRADING STOCK
Obsolete trading stock can be valued
at market selling value where
this is lower than cost and you
can substantiate the valuation.
TAX LOSSES
Be aware of the rules regarding
shareholder continuity and business
continuity if you have losses
to carry forward. Breaching both
during the year can result in your
tax losses being forfeited.
FOURTH QUARTER FBT
RETURNS
31 March is also the end of the
FBT year, regardless of your
financial balance date. Annual
FBT returns and returns for the
March quarter are due to be filed
by 31 May 2024.
If you have not done so in the
past, you should consider using
the various alternate rate options
available to reduce FBT payable
from the standard 63.93% rate.
GST MIXED USE TAXABLE
AND NON-TAXABLE
SUPPLIES
If you are GST registered and
have assets that are used to make
both GST taxable and GST exempt
or non-taxable supplies, you may
need to make an annual change
of use adjustment in the GST
return period that includes your
balance date.
TAX POOLING
With the Inland Revenue use of
money interest rate currently at
10.91% on outstanding tax payments,
it may be prudent to consider
using tax pooling to reduce
the effective rate of interest. Tax
pooling can also provide the flexibility
to make your tax payments
at times that suit your own cashflow
patterns.
TAX ON KIWISAVER
CONTRIBUTIONS
If you have employees, you need
TAXATION
BY ANDREA SCATCHARD
to review the ESCT rates that
apply to your employer KiwiSaver
contributions as these may
change on 1 April based on earnings
levels over the last 2 years.
Year-end is a busy time, so if
you have any questions or would
like help with any year-end tax
issues, take out the stress by
talking to a tax professional.
Andrea Scatchard is a Tax Partner
at Deloitte, based in the Bay of
Plenty. She can be contacted on
ascatchard@deloitte.co.nz
BREAKING WOMEN-IN-TECH STEREOTYPES
TECH TALK
BY KATE MURDOCH
As we approach International
Women’s Day I have
been thinking about my
role as a Chief Operating Officer
(COO) in an IT company and
reflecting on my career. If I had
asked the child version of myself
whether I thought I would be here,
I honestly would have said no.
Thankfully along the way I
have met some inspirational people
who have changed my life.
There were those who pushed me
to be the best version of myself,
even when I couldn’t see it, and
then there were those who told
me I would fail and never amount
to anything. Both have driven me
equally for different reasons.
I was having a conversation
recently and was asked where I
learned to be such an empathetic,
forward-thinking, strong leader?
It was an interesting question.
For me, as much as I learned lessons
from leaders that I admired,
I also learned from those with less
desirable traits - those who were
bullies, unjust, unreasonable and
incapable of seeing beyond themselves.
They taught me to recognise
what I didn’t want to be and
reinforced my determination to
lead through compassion, support
and trust.
During this same conversation
I was asked about the best piece
of advice I have ever received.
Funnily enough this was from a
male speaker, whose name I sadly
don’t remember. During his presentation
he bluntly stated that
women have a harder time being
seen as credible leaders and
speakers. His reasoning? When a
professional man gets up to speak
people listen to what he has to
say taking little notice of what
he looks like. However, when a
professional woman addresses
an audience, she is often first
assessed on her ‘looks’ and only if
they like what they see will they
listen. Sadly, I have experienced
this firsthand, but being armed
with this advice has helped me
understand the way a lot of people
think and navigate what is
still a very male dominated industry.
You may laugh, but I have personally
been in situations where
I have had three meetings on a
particular day, and I have had to
change my appearance for each
of them.
Please don’t misunderstand
me, I haven’t allowed this to perpetuate
and as a female leader in
the industry I have made it my
responsibility to address these
stereotypes and narrow-minded
views. I have never been afraid to
challenge male colleagues ‘head
on’ and educate with some considerable
success. There is still
plenty of work to do, but fortunately
I’m now in a company that
understands what I bring to the
organisation and they embrace it.
Notwithstanding the challenges,
working in the IT industry
has been a hugely rewarding
part of my life. The pace is fast,
the work is energising and exciting,
and everything I do is to help
people do what they do better so
they can go on and achieve great
things. This gives me a huge sense
of satisfaction and drive.
So what advice do I want to
impart to other women trying to
make it as an executive in a male
dominated environment? Be
that women that helps others to
rise and seek out others like you
for support when you need to –
you’re not alone. If you find that
ladder that lets you climb, then
leave a map for others to find. Be
that sister building up others, be
that trailblazer who cuts a path
for others to follow and most
importantly be the role model the
younger you would have wanted
to look up to.
Kate Murdoch is Chief Operating
Officer at Stratus Blue. She can be
contacted at kate@stratusblue.co.nz
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