Please sign the open letter calling on Kiwis to reject compulsory Fair Pay Agreements and stand up for their right to negotiate their own working conditions and pay directly with their employer. “Fair Pay Agreements would mean NZ employees and their employers losing control over the way they work and losing their right to negotiate their own employment conditions - that’s not fair. The Govt should scrap compulsory FPA legislation and strengthen the current system instead,” BusinessNZ’s Kirk Hope says. Find out more about the campaign at Your Work Your Way

IRD’s proposed tax changes are unnecessary and would harm small business, says BusinessNZ. IRD seeks to prevent tax avoidance by those on high incomes diverting income to entities taxed at a lower rate. The proposal would require firms to regularly report any capital gains to IRD and if they couldn’t prove they were capital gains, they would be taxed as income. BusinessNZ says that would be a huge compliance burden on small firms and unnecessary since such avoidance could be addressed by enforcement of existing law.

Businesses are concerned about the Government’s planned immigration rebalance policy and need further detail on the full policy, and clarity on the border reopening timelines. Accreditation for employers will open on 23 May but it is still unclear what the requirements will be for firms that need to recruit for roles paying less than median wage.  With severe skill shortages across all regions and industries currently, and outflows from New Zealand starting to pick up, immigration is desperately needed BusinessNZ says.

Small businesses worldwide haven’t found their ‘new normal’ yet, following Covid-19. In a BIAC survey of small businesses in 40 countries, 61% say productivity hasn’t bounced back yet and 57% say market uncertainty remains their top concern. Other concerns include supply chain blockages and labour shortages. However most small businesses report greater uptake of digital work practices and say they feel confident their business operations would now be better prepared to handle a crisis like Covid-19 if it occurred in the future.