Gift Duty Abolished

The burden of gift duty that cost New Zealanders $70 million a year to comply with for a tax haul of only about a million dollars annually has been lifted off New Zealanders’ shoulders.

The law removing it was passed in August 2011 and came into effect in October 2011.

Gift duty had long since stopped serving a meaningful purpose and had become an antiquated and bureaucratic imposition on people and businesses.

The change also symbolises how New Zealand is moving towards a more efficient, lower compliance tax regime.

Gift duty has continued to impose $70 million of compliance costs on New Zealanders each year, while no longer serving its intended purpose.