Amendments to cut compliance costs around the upcoming GST rate change and the repeal of fund withdrawal tax are among "business-friendly" changes being made to a key piece of tax legislation says Revenue Minister Peter Dunne.

The government announced today that it will enact recommendations made by the GST Advisory Panel that will deal with a range of difficulties arising in the transition to the 15% GST rate.

A bill tabled in Parliament today will prevent so-called "phoenix" fraud schemes that undermined the integrity of the GST rules, said Revenue Minister Peter Dunne.

Long awaited tidy up rules for GST have been introduced to Parliament.

The case for removing GST on healthy food is flawed, according to New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants tax director Craig Macalister.

The High Court has found tax avoidance in an arrangement where two companies deliberately registered for GST on a mismatched accounting basis and incorporated non-arm's length individuals for the purpose of developing and selling software.

Businesses with contracts, leases or transactions straddling the Oct. 1 implementation of the new 15% GST rate are being urged to make the newly appointed GST Advisory Panel aware of any problems they face with the changeover.

The recently appointed GST Advisory Panel will help ensure that a business sector that has not faced GST change in a generation has a smooth transition to the 15% rate on 1 October, says Revenue Minister Peter Dunne.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has released some business guidelines for the transition of GST from 12.5% to 15% with less than four months to go before the change comes into force.

There will be no further rises to GST, says Finance Minister Bill English.

There has been speculation National might eventually move GST to 17%, once the new rate of 15% is bedded in, with  - like the current changes - the rise being offset by personal tax cuts.

 

Ernst & Young has created a step plan to help businesses take action in getting ready for the 15% increase in GST which comes into force on October 1.

Personal and company tax cuts announced in the Budget today will cost more than the GST increase and clampdowns on tax dodges until 2013/14, and will only ever be fiscally neutral as long as the economy grows as strongly as the Treasury forecasts.

Half of Kiwi business owners are unhappy with the possibility of a GST increase, with only 8% supporting the idea according to the MYOB Business Monitor Government Report.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has issued a "clarification" of its earlier stance on the GST status of novated futures contracts.

Inland Revenue has signalled a further shift in its approach on GST when applied to land sales.

It is aiming its guns at "phoenix" property companies which claim GST rebate for inputs but which end up "at the bottom of the harbour" by the time the department comes to collect at the other end of the GST process.

The Supreme Court has allowed Contract Pacific to appeal its GST case against the Inland Revenue Department.

GST changes appear to be a given and people need to start preparing their clients for it now, says PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants is querying the scope of the Inland Revenue Department's proposed changes to GST rules for land and other high value assets - but says that if the IRD is to take its palled approach it should lower the use of money interest rate.

Tax evasion and fraud increased from $75 million to $127 million over the past year showing the effect of hard economic times.

An increase in GST would cause major disruption to businesses, says one of the country's GST specialists.