Christchurch Earthquake - A Message to Soar Limited Clients, Referrers and Friends
We have been overwhelmed by the number of messages from our clients and friends. Thank you for your support and kind wishes. We confirm all our staff and their families are safe and well and are ready to ensure that full services are restored as quick as possible (once authorities allow us to re-enter our premises).
Our thoughts and support are with you all and your families. We do understand that it is a hard time for many businesses, locals and residents of Christchurch since the second earthquake which occurred on Tuesday 22 February. Currently, the Christchurch CBD is in a 5 day state of civil defence emergency and access to our office is unavailable until this immediate crisis is resolved. We expect the central city lockdown area to be reduced to the inner CBD in the next week or so and that will allow us to reopen for business.
We have already e-mailed our Inland Revenue tax agent manager and identified that a few GST and tax returns are prevented to be filed by their due dates and we have requested extra time for filing returns and the remission of any subsequent late payment penalties to be waived due to these extreme circumstances.
In the meantime, if you need urgent assistance please contact Deidre Hardy on 029 9814214 or Phillip Christey on 021 876216.
Vehicle Mileage Reimbursement RatesThe Automobile Association (AA) has issued new reimbursement rates for car running costs as at June 2010. These are as follows: Kilometres per year Up to 1500cc 1501 – 2000cc 2000- 3500cc Over 3500cc Petrol AA Rates 2010 Est on 14,000 48.8c 59.2c 73.5c 98.3c 2009 Est on 14,000 47.8c 57.4c 71.5c 90.3c 2008 Est on 14,000 52.2c 63.0c 79.6c $1.00 2007 Est on 14,000 48.2c 54.6c 70.3c 90.3c Kilometres per year Up to 1500cc 1501 – 2000cc 2000- 3500cc Over 3500cc Diesel AA Rates 2010 Est on 14,000 53.1c 60.6c 74.6c 98.4c 2009 Est on 14,000 52.4c 58.7c 71.5c 94.1c 2008 Est on 14,000 58.0c 66.1c 80.3c $1.003 Mileage rates for employee reimbursement and self-employed people can vary depending on the annual kilometres travelled each year. For details of the Inland Revenue’s policy on motor vehicle reimbursement options go to: http://www.ird.govt.nz/business-income-tax/expenses/mileage-rates/emp-deductions-allowances-mileage.html Please contact us if you need any help in deciding the best way to structure your motor vehicle ownership or how to deal with motor vehicle reimbursement costs. Canterbury Earthquake Assistance - Employer Subsidy The Government has announced a wage subsidy to support employees of small businesses seriously disrupted by the Canterbury earthquake.
The support subsidy will be paid to businesses with fewer than 20 employees where earthquake damage means they cannot operate and they cannot pay staff wages.
The subsidy will be paid for up to four weeks initially and businesses can re-apply after four weeks if they are still unable to operate.
Earthquake support subsidy:
• $350 per week gross wage subsidy
• Advance lump sum paid to employer
• Employer can ‘top up’ subsidy
• Backdated to date of earthquake
• Firms holding insurance cover for loss of earnings will be expected to use this before accessing the wage
subsidy.
For further information please download the document below. Earthquake Website Information Changes to GST and Individual Income Tax Rates as at 1 October 2010. GST rates are due to increase to 15% effective from 1 October 2010 and individual tax rates will also reduce from the same date.
Please view the attached link to view a summary of the pending changes. Download GST & Tax Changing Summary Help for those tramatised by the earthquakeHow do you know if you were traumatised by the earthquake?
The earthquake was scary! That is a fact. Everyone will remember being scared and will probably be telling others how scared they were. That doesn’t necessarily mean you are traumatised by it. Someone who is traumatised will feel the fear when they think about it. They will feel some physical change, such as a flutter in their heart or tummy for example. When they think about the memory it will have an emotional charge and they will feel the fear, rather than the fear being a fact or a thought.
Take this little test to see how you are doing emotionally:
Think about the earthquake and run through the memory of what happened to you in your mind, as if it was a scene in a movie. Rate your level of emotion to that memory on a scale of zero to ten, with zero being no emotion and ten being extreme. Go ahead and do that now before you read on…
If you rated the memory emotionally as zero then you are not traumatised by the event, but like many of us, probably still have a healthy fear of earthquakes and may still feel scared when the aftershocks hit. This fear is an inbuilt self protection mechanism and perfectly normal. If however you rated any other level of emotion from your memory you have some level of trauma. If your level was a one or a two, it's possible this may clear in time, though this doesn’t always happen. Anything higher I would recommend getting some help now. If you chose not to run through the memory in your mind, be aware that this may be a sign of trauma in itself. Some people cope by not thinking about or talking about what happened. Keeping our mind off it, or distracting ourselves is not emotionally healthy. Burying those emotions is not healthy so if you are afraid to think about it please contact me or someone else for help.
I’ve copied below a portion of text from my website that talks about the effectiveness of energy psychology techniques, such as EFT, on disaster victims in other parts of the world. It's reassuring how quickly traumatised victims felt better after treatment.
I’m here to help anyone who is struggling with this event. Please pass this email on to as many people as you can so they know help is available. If there is anyone who is traumatised and in a financial situation where they can’t afford my services please ask them to contact me anyway, no one will go without help. I have offered my help to the Mayor and suggested that with a sound system I could treat hundreds of people in one place, in a timeframe such as an hour. It goes without saying that I would not charge for this. Whether it will be acknowledged I don’t know.
I have had many kind people say they have beds to offer those in need. If you know of anyone who has nowhere to go, whether temporarily or permanently, please contact me and I will put them onto those who have offered.
Be kind to others and be thankful for what we have. We each have losses, but we have not lost each other.  If you'd like to talk to me in person about your emotional response to this event please don't hesitate to contact me.
Karen Degen
Health, Happiness and Success Coach, EFT Practitioner
Phone: (03) 332 0526
Mobile: 027 678 5943
Email:
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www.setfree.co.nz Legal Fees DeductibleAs of April 1 2009 businesses will be able to claim a full tax deduction for legal expenses up to $10,000. With effect from 1 April 2009 businesses can generally claim a full tax deduction for legal expenses up to $10,000 in the year those expenses are incurred. For expenses over $10,000 the usual (old) tax rules apply and legal expenses need to be split between those that are fully deductible and those that need to be depreciated because they relate to a capital purchase. Example: A business purchases capital equipment with bank finance. The total legal expenses are $4,000 for the financing of the purchase and $4,000 for the legal work on the purchase. The full $8,000 will be deductible in this case. Under the usual (old) tax rules only $4,000 for financing would be deductible in the year incurred with the balance depreciated as part of the cost of purchase of the capital equipment. NOTE: 1. The amount of $10,000 excludes GST if the business is GST registered; 2. The deduction is only for businesses where the total legal expenses in one year are $10,000 or less; The relevant legislation is Section 4 of the Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Act 2009 which inserted a new Section DB 62 into the Income Tax Act. Wages Paid to School Children If your business employs a school child and their earnings do not exceed $45 per week, the employer is not required to deduct tax from the weekly earnings, and the child is not required to complete a tax code declaration form or lodge an income tax return. This also applies if the school child’s weekly earnings exceeded $45 per week, but the annual earnings are still not expected to exceed $2,340. The exemption does not apply to infant children. Please contact us if you need any help with applying the child taxpayer tax credit, when the yearly income is likely to exceed $2,340 for each child employed by your business. Inland Revenue Department – Use-of-Money Interest Rate changesOn 2 February 2009, it was announced their was a reduction use-of-money interest underpayment rate from 14.24% to 9.73% and the overpayment rate from 6.66% to 4.23%. These rate changes are effective from 1 March 2009. Associated Persons The taxation landscape has changed when the long awaited broader “associated persons” tests were passed through parliament on the 18 September 2009. The broader definitions especially relates to land sales. The aim of this legislation is to prevent people circumventing the law because of the closeness of the relationships of the parties involved. Both directors at Soar Limited will be attending a TEO course on the 12 October 2009 to establish the impact of this new legislation and find out about any last minute changes to the passing of this legislation. In particular we will be interested in the implications of deem dividend risks and future corporate restructuring issues for our clients. It will be important that all property investors keep a register of properties held prior to the passing of this legislation to identify which properties will or will not be caught out under the new “associated persons” legislation. Start-Up Business Protection Insurance Start-Up Business Protection Insurance looks after your business while you’re getting established. It provides a fixed monthly payment if you’re totally disabled and unable to work due to sickness or injury. No evidence of your financial situation is required. Benefits of Start-Up Income Protection Insurance. · Fixed monthly payment, after a waiting period, for a period for six or 12 months. · The monthly payment can be either $2,500 or $4,000 per month. · Choose a waiting period of four or eight weeks. · The premium is automatically waived while you are on claim. · At any time after 12 months, you can choose to upgrade to Sovereign’s TotalCareMax Disability Income Protection, providing you have two full years of financial evidence. To be eligible for Start-Up Income Protection, you must: · Be self-employed for less than 18 months in occupation classes 1–4 · Have only one business · Be actively involved in your business on the risk commencement date · Be residing and working in New Zealand at all times during the policy term. If you would like to know more or want to apply for this product, please call Deidre or Phillip to set up a meeting.
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