Economy & Tax

The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast for the December quarter shows only modest growth on the cards for New Zealand’s economy in 2025. BusinessNZ Director of Advocacy Catherine Beard says after a tough year in business, there are still reasons to be optimistic. “The end of 2024 looks like a bit of...

BusinessNZ endorses the start of work towards a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. The Bill aims to improve the quality of regulation, reducing the compliance burden on New Zealanders and boosting productivity. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich says businesses will be heartened by the work. “Our members have consistently called for...

BusinessNZ congratulates the National, Labour and ACT parties for their shared endorsement of an updated framework for public private partnerships. The New Zealand PPP Framework Blueprint for Future Transactions sets out New Zealand’s future approach to PPP infrastructure projects, based on learnings from past projects, with updated requirements relating to...

Small businesses will welcome the Government’s firm direction to government agencies to pay their bills on time, BusinessNZ says. Chief Executive Katherine Rich says many businesses supply goods and services to government agencies and can experience hardship from late payment times. “Businesses can look forward to their invoices being paid...

BusinessNZ has welcomed the Government’s pledge to improve the policies holding back overseas investment. The Government has indicated it will change the Overseas Investment Act and the policy settings for foreign investment, within the next year. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich said the current  rules make it difficult and uncertain...

Better claims management and more transparent levy-setting are needed to return ACC Accounts to financial health, BusinessNZ says.    BusinessNZ’s submission on ACC’s levy-setting for 2025-28 notes that some ACC Accounts are currently underfunded, a situation which will lead to unjustified pressure on future levy payers. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine...

BusinessNZ supports moves to get more productivity and efficiency in the building consent system. The Government is proposing changing the system, with options including consolidating the number of Building Consent Authorities and introducing a single point of contact for builders to submit their plans to.  BusinessNZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard...

The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast for the September Quarter shows a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel. The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index, a measure of New Zealand’s major economic indicators, shows improvement from the previous quarter, with warmer business and consumer sentiment, reducing inflation, declining interest rates, small...

BusinessNZ congratulates the Infrastructure Minister for his commitment to building consensus. BusinessNZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard says the Minister’s address to the infrastructure community today reflected the strong desire by business for more bipartisanship in infrastructure. “The Minister’s commitments to an independent National Infrastructure Plan, the use of independent agencies...

The Government’s steps to make it easier for overseas investment are a good start but more, fundamental change is required, says BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope. “New Zealand currently has one of the most restrictive regimes in the OECD when it comes to overseas investment, and moves toward a more...