David Cunliffe
Revenue Spokesperson

11 March 2013

National’s car park compliance catastrophe

National’s proposed car park fringe benefit tax is a nightmare of unnecessary compliance costs, gaping avoidance loopholes, worker safety issues, and cost transfers, Labour’s Revenue spokesperson David Cunliffe says.

The Government is proposing to apply a 50 per cent fringe benefit tax to all employer-provided car parks in the Auckland and Wellington central business districts through an amendment to the Taxation (Livestock Valuation, Assets Expenditure, and Remedial Matters) Bill.

“The compliance costs of the proposal are ridiculous,” David Cunliffe said.

“A recent NZIER review found that it was ‘not clear at all from the RIS [Regulatory Impact Statement] that the proposed solutions are superior to the status quo.’

“For each car park businesses will have to identify whether the space will be used by employees, employers or customers for various periods across a day. It will be especially complex where car parks are shared or ‘hot parked’.”

“The Government’s proposal will have a particularly harsh impact on shift workers who operate outside a 10pm to 6am window, such as cleaners. It also raises safety concerns, particularly for female employees, for whom access to safe workplace parking after normal business hours is, sadly, a modern-day reality.

“The fact that the National/United Future Government would even consider a measure this difficult for business and workers to administer – and all for only $17 million per annum revenue - shows they are really scraping the bottom on the revenue barrow in a last desperate attempt to get the Government’s failing books into surplus.

“New Zealanders are rapidly tiring of this disappointing, go-nowhere administration. Instead of taxing car parks, Kiwis want to see the Government coming up with a plan for growing jobs in our economy.”

ENDS

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