Q&As: Tax agent and Inland Revenue differ on treatment of investors selling rental properties; Two big issues lead to bad financial advice results; Is this column dominated by KiwiSaver?; Generally, don’t put lump sums into KiwiSaver.
More than one way to tax investment property. There’s more than one way to skin a cat — or to change the tax system to discourage New Zealanders from investing in rental property.
Q&As: Even a reader’s accountant seems confused about how gains on share sales are taxed. The law needs to be changed; Property fan who did badly in the share market broke one of the basic rules of share investing; Did I mislead readers about the advantages of dollar cost averaging?
Q&As: Delaying joining KiwiSaver can mean you’ll miss out on many thousands of dollars; How retired person can get the best out of KiwiSaver; Couple should use PIEs to make the most of their savings.
Q&As: Just because a so-called financial expert is confident, that doesn’t mean he or she is right; If you haven’t worked for a while any time in the last five years, you may well be in for a tax refund; Don’t delay joining KiwiSaver, even if you’re worried that you could be made redundant; KiwiSaver tax credit lark for the newly retired is too good to be true.
Sloppy thinking unfair to immigrants, 2-worker families. Every time the economy is looking iffy, people start saying, “Stop immigration,” or even, “Send home the immigrants.” Their reason: “They’re stealing our jobs.” This is sloppy economic thinking — not looking down the track at the consequences of a policy change.
Q&As: Tips for retired couple whose interest income has halved; Savings accounts may pay more interest than term deposits — but take care; Tax on foreign shares seems tough in current environment.
Q&As: Don’t try to time markets. Stick with your regular retirement savings, although you may want to modify where you save; Teen’s worries are unfounded about how Dad’s income would affect KiwiSaver first home subsidy — but other subsidy issues still undecided; Tax-wise, it’s better to borrow for taxable activities than to buy a family home. Plus: Clarification on the taxation of interest on loans between family members.
Q&As: Couple approaching retirement should spend most of their savings on paying off their mortgage; Yes, you can get KiwiSaver tax credits as well as NZ Super; Reader who distrust government confuses KiwiSaver with NZ Super Fund; Was this column wrong last week about withholding tax on interest paid on a loan within a family?
Q&As: Government’s KiwiSaver changes include a big improvement on their pre-election plans; New taxation of KiwiSaver employer contributions is fair enough. Plus: readers’ views of my political leanings vary widely.