No changes on charity tax rules in this year’s Budget

The Government received 900 submissions during a consultation this year on the ways charities and their businesses are taxed. Ms Willis told NewstalkZB, “I can confirm that [no changes are coming at the Budget] because we are continuing work in this area”. 

“We had a short, sharp consultation with the charities sector and that has thrown up two key things: that is the potential revenue the Government would get from this is pretty small . . .  at the most, $50 million a year, so it’s not essential to our Budget that we hurry these changes through. 

“What officials have advised is the consultation has uncovered a lot of complexity about definitions and rules and how charities would react in practice,” Ms Willis said.

This could mean changes are coming in future, but not at the current Budget.

“I want to work through it carefully, I’m very committed to making sure we’ve got a fair system with high integrity. We will be making changes in this space, but I don’t want to rush it and get it wrong,” she said. 

Radio New Zealand reported Ms Willis saying that some commentators had estimated a charities tax could collect billions in revenue. But “people had overestimated what that would look like”, Ms Willis said.

Ms Willis said the Government plans to cut “billions” of dollars worth of programmes started under the previous governments, freeing up cash for what she is billing as one of the tightest Budgets in a decade. 

The 2025 Budget will be delivered on May 22.

FULL STORY

Nicola Willis: What to expect in the Budget (By Thomas Coughlan/NewstalkZB)

Operating allowance cut coming in Budget (Radio New Zealand)

Budget 2025 delivery date announced (Beehive.govt.nz)