Govt to consult on tax regime for fruit trees & vines

The government will consult widely with the fruit growing industry over a proposal to make the tax treatment of replacement plantings of fruit trees and vines more flexible, Revenue Minister Michael Cullen said today.

“The government proposes to introduce legislation to allow a limited proportion of replacement planting to be tax deductible in a current income year,” Dr Cullen said. “At present, a current year deduction is possible only for a tree or vine of the same species and variety that has died or been destroyed.

“Under the new system, some replacement planting expenditure would be treated as repairs and maintenance. On average, expenditure in relation to 5 per cent of the area of an orchard would be deductible in a single income year, and growers could replace plants when they wanted to, using different varieties if they wished.

“This would give more flexibility in the tax treatment of replanting activities and encourage the planting of the most commercially desirable varieties.

“The government has already had discussions with the Fruitgrowers Federation and wants to extend the consultation over the next few weeks to include other industry bodies,” Dr Cullen said.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>