The last post

By Andrea Black on

Well dear readers this is it. Our time together is coming to an end. I now have a grown up job.

Sir Michael Cullen has asked me to become the independent advisor on the Tax Working Group. And I have accepted.

Through a combination of no longer having the time and not really feeling comfortable publicly commenting on stuff that may also be under review; I am closing the blog for the duration. I will still pay the princely sum of USD 30 or so to WordPress to keep it all in existence. But new stuff – soz.

I have really enjoyed the opportunity to write as I would like and not as a policy official or a disputant. I have also enjoyed all the new people I have met as well as the polite and intelligent- albeit limited- engagement on the blog itself. But I get to be a grownup again which I am looking forward to. Even if that does mean womens work shoes and writing in complete sentences.

Looking into my future compliance, I am very pleasantly surprised with the new tax landscape for contractors. GST registration and filing can be done online. Even registration for ACC seems to be automatic with GST registration. And provisional tax largely avoided through withholding taxes if the payer agrees. Which I am hoping the Treasury will. The tax system has clearly benefited from my absence.

I do still have some partially written posts that I never finalised. Including alternative minimum taxes and GST on online shopping. Even had a cartoon ready for the latter.

But what I can do is encourage you all to engage with the Working Group processes particularly if you aren’t a tax person. The tax system belongs to us all. As independent advisor I will have a role – if they want – in helping community groups and NGOs frame their submissions. So they are able to fully engage with a system that can – at times – seem oblique and arcane. Even after reading the blog.

So I hope I am able to engage with a number of you through the Working Group processes. But otherwise I would like to thank you all for your attention and wish you a very Happy Christmas – no recipes this year – and New Year. In the immortal words of Douglas Adams:

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Andrea

Posted in: Uncategorized

15 responses

  1. Cameron Lord

    Tēnā koe Andrea,

    This novice has enjoyed & learned from your blog. Upon your reference I also read Deborah Russell’s Tax & Fairness and have also just finished The Big Kahuna and am now into Pennies From Heaven. Am forming the view that the general election is most essentially about taxation & redistribution (and some other stuff that then flows on from that). Sad then that so many of us have such scant little knowledge of how it does work and how it could work better. Will, like you, do what I can to get people engaged. Hopefully, to my way of thinking, we could then see voters demand a more comprehensive review than this TWG will undertake. Good luck to you, and good luck to all of us.

    Ngā mihi maioha

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  2. Peter Frawley

    Great gig! And happy you squeezed in the cartoon!

    On 20/12/2017 5:33 PM, “Let’s Talk About Tax NZ” wrote:

    > Andrea Black posted: “Well dear readers this is it. Our time together is > coming to an end. I now have a grown up job. Sir Michael Cullen has asked > me to become the independent advisor on the Tax Working Group. And I have > accepted. Through a combination of no longer having th” >

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Cindy

    Hi Andrea, awesome news, the tax group will certainly benefit from your experience and common sense. Have a wonderful Christmas and if you are ever in Manukau pop in, we certainly have missed you.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Pat

    Fantastic news for you and them and the country. Will miss the blog though – it has given me much to think on but also appreciated the humour.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. connie

    Hey Andrea! Great news and they couldn’t have picked anyone better as far as I’m concerned. Connie.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Nat Walker

    Just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed your blog. Obviously sad to see it go, but glad that you are involved with the TWG.

    Best,

    Nat

    >

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Tim Sinclair

    Congratulations Andrea. I will be very interested to see how this goes. Tim

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Andrea Black

      Thanks Tim. I hope you are well.

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  8. Michael Reddell

    All the best in the new role, and thanks very much for the blog.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Andrea Black

      Thank you Michael. I have appreciated your support over this period.

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  9. Gareth Morgan

    Hi Andrea – how can you be “independent” when the terms of reference are so selective and exclude the possibility of any independent, objective, best-practice solution? Given Sir Michael is about as partisan as is possible, I guess we’re going to see a lot of misuse of the word “independent” by the promoters of this Labour Party charade. While such a flawed exercise needs quality advice please don’t insult our intelligence by suggesting anything to do with it is independent. Aren’t you also a card-carrying Labour party member? If so it would be helpful to declare if that’s correct. Best of luck with it nevertheless (seriously) – NZ has been the victim of an incompetent income tax regime for way too long now, although I’m not holding my breath for anything at all erudite.

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    1. Andrea Black

      Thanks for the good wishes Gareth. Merry Christmas.

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  10. Tracey Paterson

    Congratulations Andrea, sounds an ideal role for you, well done. Best wishes Tracey

    Liked by 1 person

  11. sstjohn2014

    That is such good news Andrea. well done . Hope to talk in the new year and keen to feed into tax working group

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    1. Andrea Black

      Thanks Susan. Really keen on your input. Cheers

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