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February 2021 Newsletter

Warning: Next week is March already. Sheesh. Where did all that time go? Won’t be long until we’re talking about Christmas. But even better for some of you ….. the end of the financial year is near. Feeling festive??

We’ve got lots to say for our February newsletter so lets get on with it………

Top Personal Tax Rate Increasing to 39%

“A person doesn’t know how much he has to be thankful for until he has to pay taxes on it”  Ann Landers.

Not sure how thankful Ann was from all those advice columns she wrote, but did you know that the personal tax rate for income above $180,000 per annum is set to increase to 39% from 1 April 2021. That’s a lot of thankfulness.

This does have some implications other than just direct tax on your income.

  • The increased rate impacts fringe benefit tax if you provide benefits to employees (including shareholder employees).
  • If you deduct RWT on interest payments you may need to change the rate of RWT.
  • Superannuation contributions (ESCT) may need to increase.

If you operate a company structure and you have large tax credits or overdrawn shareholder current accounts you should consider declaring dividends before 31 March 2021. You may also want to consider how your business is structured.

Its all a bit technical and accounting 101 up there. But don’t worry – we are here to help. That used to be our name! Declaring a company dividend before the year end could save you tax.  If you have any concerns about the new income tax rate or want to discuss dividends and structure please contact us for an urgent appointment in March.

Minimum Wage Increase

Minimum WageFrom 1st April 2021, the adult minimum wage will increase from $18.90 to $20 per hour. Are you ready for it? Here are some tips from Employment New Zealand.

Financial Support for Businesses

Financial SupportWe thought we could get through a newsletter without saying the dirty C word. COVID-19 has impacted many businesses financially. With the recent change in alert levels we were all reminded of the fickle nature of COVID-19 on our businesses. The government is still providing some forms of support during the pandemic. Please click here to find out what support may be possible. Please reach out if you need our assistance.

The End Is Near

End is nearYou shrewd folk out there will realise that 31 March 2021 is the end of the financial year. You’ll be waiting in eager anticipation for us to swoon in with our end of year checklists. Tanu and Leony have been working on a revamped checklist. We try to ask all the right questions to make sure we have all the information we need from you.

Expect to see a checklist come your way in March so you can be all ready to go when 31 March ticks over. We will also be sending terminal tax reminders to you in March for 2020 tax which is due to be paid by 7 April 2021. Plenty to look forward to eh?

Money Saving Tips

Money Saving TipsNumber Up is more than an accounting firm. We are here to help with money plans and biz life success. One way to move forward financially is to get rid of ugly credit card debt. Fun fact. Did you know that there are 10,000 worldwide credit card transactions made every second?  As part of our money makeover plan we encourage you to stomp out that credit card debt for good. Its hard to pay down that credit card debt while you are accumulating a minimum of 12.95% interest. One way to speed up the process is to transfer balances to interest free accounts. Click here for more information on the best balance transfer 0% interest rate credit cards.

Property Investment – Christchurch

Our biz life plan is all about getting you on track so you are using your business to achieve your life goals (financial and non financial) and to be secure at the end of your business life. Investing for the future is a big part of that strategy. Scott recently visited Christchurch to chat to some people about the property market. The Christchurch property market is blistering hot right now.

We spoke to Phil Jack of Harcourts while we were up there. Phil was absolutely great. He takes time to understand what your property profile is. He then gets stuck in and finds the property to match the profile. He offers great insights and works hard to find the property that will work for you. We fully recommend using his expertise if you are considering investing in Christchurch.

And Now The Big Finale

We didn’t manage to slip in any jokes into the last newsletter. Not sure if anyone noticed. Some were probably devastated. But we’ve come back strong. Check out these doozers:

Q. Did you hear about the guy with the twitter addiction? He said to his doctor, “You’ve got to help me. I’m addicted to twitter.”

A. The doctor replied, “I’m sorry. I don’t follow you.”

Q. Did you hear about the high spending limo driver who had been driving for 30 years?

A. Apparently he had nothing to chauffer it.

Ouch. Even I’m cringing. How about a customer complaint?

Number Up

Until next newsletter. Peace out.

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