Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Housing Trust welcomes resolution to tax issue

Housing Trust welcomes resolution to tax issue

Yesterday the Government announced plans to introduce new tax legislation to give certainty to community housing providers assisting low-income families into home ownership. The new legislation will provide tax exemption for approved community housing providers bringing to an end some years of uncertainty.

The new legislation solves the go forward status of the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust that was deregistered as a charity five years ago and subsequently lost an appeal in the High Court.

The Trust was then subject to an Inland Revenue assessment which resulted in a $6m tax bill that was settled on behalf of the Trust by the Crown.

Under the impending tax provisions a point of entry test and new eligibility criteria will be introduced, focused on the income and assets of the community housing providers’ clients, and will match the KiwiSaver HomeStart programme criteria.

This means that the income threshold has been set at $80,000 for an individual and $120,000 for a couple, with no asset test for first-home buyers.

The new legislation will be applied retrospectively from 14th April 2014, which means the Trust will face no further tax obligations since its IRD settlement.

Trust Chair, David Cole, said he was pleased with the decision - “Trustees are delighted to see common sense prevail on this issue and we are delighted with Minister Bennett’s determination to resolve this problem. If the High Court decision was applied across other coomunity housing providers there would be other organisations that would face deregistration like Queenstown. This decision will allay many fears amongst trustees around the country who have been concerned about their tax status arising from the High Court decision.”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Mr Cole went on to say - “From the beginning, the Queenstown community worked closely alongside the Crown in the formation of the Trust. The Crown approved the structure, signed-off the Trust Deed, and approved the programmes and the activities of the Trust – even going so far as approving every individual household the Trust assisted. So it was disappointing that another arm of the Crown undermined this collaboration by striking the organisation from the Charities register.”

“It has taken more than 3 years to resolve this complex matter with Crown Agencies and we are very pleased the uncertainty of the Trust’s tax status during that period and going forward will now be resolved with this government announcement.”

“This issue has been hugely distracting for trustees over many years and I am pleased our energies and focus can now be wholly directed on delivering more houses for lower income households for a community that has among the most expensive housing costs in the country.”


© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.