BUDGET RELEASE: Property tax changes increase fairness

Budget 2010 property tax measures include:

• Denying depreciation deductions for buildings, such as rental housing and office buildings, with an estimated useful life of 50 years or more. This takes effect for all such buildings from the start of the 2011/12 income year.
• Changes to the tax rules for qualifying companies (QCs) and loss attributing qualifying companies (LAQCs), taking effect from income years starting on or after 1 April 2011.
• Preventing property investors from using rental losses to inflate Working for Families eligibility and payments, from 1 April 2011.
• Funding over the next four years for Inland Revenue to target property speculators who have been avoiding paying tax on their trading gains.
• Cutting the top personal tax rate from 38 per cent to 33 per cent, reducing the value of losses higher-income earners can claim on property investments.

"Closing loopholes that allow well-off families to use investment losses to inflate their eligibility for Working for Families payments will remove another incentive to invest in property.

"These changes will generate at least $2.48 billion additional revenue over the next four years, which can be returned to all New Zealand taxpayers as part of our package of across the board tax cuts."