“Trust busting” is the term often used to describe instances where a court finds in favour of a claimant trying to access trust assets. Here, though, I do not want to talk about “trust busting”. Instead I want to bust some trust myths. There has been a lot of media coverage recently as a result of the new Trusts ... More 

Often business owners need to approach the bank for money, for example to put into their business. This is a perfectly normal part of running a business. However, there is something that many business owners are unaware of, which could jeopardise their relationship with the bank and therefore their chances of borrowing any more money in the future.  When ... More 

As many investors will already know, banks have been steadily tightening their lending criteria, making it more challenging to borrow. And soon, when the new capital requirement rules for banks come into effect next year, this is only going to get harder.  Capital requirements for the major banks will be increased from 10% to 18% over the next seven ... More 

Depreciation is the reduction in value of an asset over time due to wear and tear. In New Zealand, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) allows depreciation on certain items to be claimed as a type of expense for income tax, so it is beneficial to understand what it can be applied to.  In accountancy, depreciation refers to two aspects ... More 

You will likely have recently been sent a bunch of forms to fill in from your bank or other financial institution asking you to define yourself or your entities by choosing between various unintelligible categories. Once you’ve chosen a category by throwing a dart at the form you’re then asked to advise whether or not you are tax resident ... More 

It is a requirement in New Zealand for parties to provide their IRD numbers when buying or selling real estate (whether as an individual or through another entity such as a company or trust). Normally this does not pose any sort of problem. However, there will be significant issues if you are selling a property that has been generating ... More 

New legal and regulatory requirements are slowing things down and costing people time and money, especially if they leave things to the last minute before involving their professional advisers. The following story illustrates.    Recently, a client faced the problem of failing to obtain bank funding from a registered bank. They did not contact us in advance of their ... More 

As investors become increasingly aware of how much the lending landscape has changed from that of a few years ago, a question I am receiving a lot is, “When will we see the banks relax mortgage lending criteria again?” Whilst we saw the slight relaxing of LVR restrictions at the start of the year, over roughly the same period ... More 

Do you currently have life insurance in place? Unless you’re single, living the high life, flying solo, and not bothered what happens to your debts when you die, then you’re going to need to have the right life cover in place. Life insurance isn’t something that you lie in bed at night thinking about. Rather, life insurance generally comes ... More 

Choosing the right real estate agent can make a big difference to your selling experience, and to your bottom line. A knowledgeable real estate agent can make you a lot of money. On the other hand, if you don't have a good agent, you can unnecessarily lose a lot of money. I am frustrated to have heard stories about ... More