Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback New Zealand Bill of Rights Act Reports

Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Bill (Consistent) [2015] NZBORARp 24 (17 June 2015)

Last Updated: 17 January 2019

Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and

Other Measures) Bill

17 June 2015

Hon Christopher Finlayson QC, Attorney-General

Consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990: Taxation (Transformation: First Phase

Simplification and Other Measures) Bill

1. We have considered whether the Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Bill (‘the Bill’) is consistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (‘the Bill of Rights Act’).

2. This taxation omnibus Bill makes changes to a number of Acts, aiming to simplify and improve administration of the tax system. Amendments include provisions intended to:

a. Clarify the communication options available to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue and taxpayers and to future-proof legislation to allow for developments in communication technology

b. Improve the collection of income tax by allowing employers to choose to withhold tax on the value of benefits provided to employees under share purchase agreements

100. Allow the Ministry of Education to better support early childhood providers by facilitating information sharing between the Ministry of Education and Inland Revenue about providers’ business activities

d. Enable co-location of government services by providing that Inland Revenue employees are deemed to have not broken the law if they inadvertently disclose tax-secret information to a co-located employee of another government agency who has signed a secrecy certificate

e. Protect minors incorrectly enrolled in KiwiSaver by providing processes for them to exit the

KiwiSaver scheme and have their contributions returned to them.

3. We have concluded that the Bill appears to be consistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the Bill of Rights Act.

Jeff Orr

Chief Legal Counsel

Office of Legal Counsel

Disclaimer

In addition to the general disclaimer for all documents on this website, please note the following: This advice was prepared to assist the Attorney-General to determine whether a report should be made to Parliament under s 7 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 in relation to the Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Bill. It should not be used or acted upon for any other purpose. The advice does no more than assess whether the Bill complies with the

minimum guarantees contained in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The release of this advice should not be taken to indicate that the Attorney-General agrees with all aspects of it, nor does its release constitute a general waiver of legal professional privilege in respect of this or any other matter. Whilst care has been taken to ensure that this document is an accurate reproduction of the advice provided to the Attorney-General, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Crown Law Office accepts any liability for any errors or omissions.