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RE-DELIVERERS

Re-deliverers are a service used by consumers when an offshore supplier does not offer shipping to
New Zealand. The consumer can elect to have the goods delivered to the re-deliverer, which is an
intermediary address. The re-deliverer will then deliver the goods to the New Zealand consumer for a
fee. The new rules will require re-deliverers to register for and to return GST in respect of the goods that
they re-deliver to a New Zealand address.
The NZ$60,000 GST registration threshold will apply to both marketplaces and re-deliverers.
Normally GST will have no impact on business profits, except for administration and compliance costs,
and cash flow effects. However, there are instances (particularly in the financial services sector) where
the tax will be imposed on the business taxpayer as a final customer.

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

New Zealand does not currently have a separate capital gains tax regime. However, in some
circumstances, income tax may be imposed on profits made on the sale or other disposition of assets,
including real and personal property (for instance, where such assets are acquired for the purposes
of resale). Real property which is residential property (other than a person’s main home) and which is
disposed of within five years of acquisition will be deemed to have been acquired with the intention of
resale, and any gain will be subject to income tax (with some limited exceptions). The Government has
also introduced a new withholding tax on non-residents selling residential land which is subject to that
fivew year rule. In addition, certain foreign portfolio equity holdings are subject to tax on a deemed
return of 5% of the value of those holdings at the start of the relevant income year (in this case, any
returns from these holdings will not otherwise be subject to tax).

Transferors and transferees of land must provide certain details about their identity and information
in a tax statement, referred to as a Land Transfer Tax Statement, in order for the transfer of land to
be registered through the New Zealand’s electronic land title registration system. This information is
required in respect of all transfers of land, other than transfers which meet the definition of a “non-
notifiable transfer”. However, in the case of a non-notifiable transfer (broadly, a transfer in which either
party has used or will use the land as their main home), the Land Transfer Tax Statement will still be
required to be provided in order to notify Land Information New Zealand that the transfer is a “non-
notifiable transfer”. A “non-notifiable transfer” will not include a transfer which has a transferee or a
transferor who is an “offshore person”.
The Government has recently amended the Overseas Investment Act 2005 (OIA) to bring residential
land within the category of “sensitive land” for the purposes of the OIA. Overseas persons who are not
resident in New Zealand will generally not be able to buy existing houses or other pieces of residential
land. A natural person is an overseas person for this purpose under the OIA if they are neither a New
Zealand citizen nor “ordinarily resident in New Zealand”. A person will be ordinarily resident in New
Zealand if they hold a permanent residence visa and have been residing in New Zealand for at least a year
and have been present in New Zealand for at least 183 days in the past year. However, overseas persons
will be able to buy residential land in certain situations, including if they will be developing the land and
adding to New Zealand’s housing supply; or if they will convert the land to another use and are able to
demonstrate this would have wider benefits to the country.
In late February 2019 a working group commissioned by the Government reported back on proposed
changes to the tax system. The most significant proposal is a capital gains tax which the group has
recommended be imposed on the sale of commercial and residential property (excluding a person’s main
home), businesses, and domestic shares. The Government is currently determining which of the group’s
recommendations to implement and the form any changes might take. None of the recommendations
will be implemented before 2021, after the next general election to be held in 2020.