Money & Legal

The results of the latest MYOB Business Monitor are a worrying read for ratepayers, as they show that businesses all over the country are unhappy with the performance of the local councils and regional authorities.

What is so frustrating about these results is that high levels of dissatisfaction with local government is nothing new, but not only is the problem not being solved, it is actually getting worse.

Nationwide, 44% of New Zealand’s business owners are “dissatisfied” with the performance of their local council or authority when it came to helping their business. The biggest source of frustration was delays in dealing with councils, with 64% supporting more stringent response times for local Government. Read more

The ongoing controversy over ACC (Accident Compensation Commission) seems to have turned into yet another “he said, she said” political scandal. Amidst all the hype and noise though, it’s easy to lose sight of perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this whole saga: the difficulty claimants seem to have in getting good assistance from ACC.

Amidst all the allegations of bullying and threats, we seem to have lost sight of the fact that business owners pay for ACC, and they should be able to expect that if their employees ever have need of the system, they will get the best possible service and care. Read more

Problem gambling is clearly an issue for our society – often affecting those who are most vulnerable to the financial harm and creating real hurt for many Kiwi families.

Access to any activity with the potential to cause individual harm – from gambling, cigarettes and alcohol, to hunting and even certain sports – should be something we always carefully consider as a society. But in every case there must be a balance between the possibility of harm and the public’s desire to take part. And between the potential for risk and any benefits likely to accrue from the activity.

While the controversial Sky City Convention Centre deal has become the latest focus of this debate, it seems in reality the issue might be more about how the deal was done, than the true consequences of the decision. Read more

If you’re a news junkie like me, then you’ll know that bad news sells – and other than the odd cute animal story, there’s nothing like a disaster or crisis to get the news media excited and pumping endless commentary to us on how the “sky is falling”.  It’s human nature, I guess.

But is anyone else getting a little sick of how much attention and drama is associated with the Eurozone and the worsening economic conditions in Europe?

I really think we need to be careful not to read too much into the negative economic data from overseas. Read more

Our local economy expected big things from last year’s Rugby World Cup, with images of shop tills ringing, hospitality venues booming and glittering commercial sponsorships for our All Black super stars.  This was certainly the image whipped up by the Government and event promoters in the lead up to the world’s third largest sporting event.

So did it deliver?

While many industries are still counting the benefits, and early indicators were promising, many economists are painting a fair less lucrative picture. Read more

Do you have a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in your business?  If you’re a small business, chances are, no.  Few small or medium businesses have a CFO.

A CFO’s role in a business is to use the financial information of a business to drive and improve it.  The financial information of a business is the key to the strategic direction and improvement of every business. Read more

The first issue to catch my eye this year is the chatter about the proposed changes to NZ food legislation.  The NZ Food Bill 160-2 is apparently the largest reform of regulations in food manufacture and selling in 30 years.  It seeks to better protect consumers with a new regulatory regime – where penalties for non-compliance are being significantly increased from a maximum fine of $5000 for an individual to up to 2 years imprisonment and a $100,000 fine. Read more

Don’t you love this time of year, it’s all about spend, spend, spend, shop, shop, shop and worry about it next year.  I am sure it is not just us girls who feel like this.

The pressure to purchase goods for ourselves and others is huge at this time of year.  All our children or grandchildren need the latest toys; men need the latest gadget, and every girl regardless of age need jewellery, that’s what the advertisers seem to tell us… Read more

With the election a month away, National has a lock on the small business vote. According to the latest MYOB Business Monitor Survey, 71% of small business owners say they will vote for the party in this year’s General Election.

National is enjoying considerable popularity with the small business sector – with support higher among the country’s 400,000-plus sole traders and small business owners than it is in the general business sector (59%).

But although Kiwi small business owners see no real alternative at the polls – fewer than 10% support Labour – is enough really being done to support the vote of this significant and motivated group?

Despite their strong support for National in this election, New Zealand’s business owners are not clearly defined by the policies that fit into the remit of a single party. In fact, the results of the MYOB Business Monitor show their preferences for the policy announced to date are spread across both major parties.

One of the most popular policies for businesses is Labour’s removal of GST on essential goods and services. This social-good policy is popular with 58% of business voters, despite the fact that the onus of implementing and managing the policy would fall on business owners, greatly increasing their compliance burden. And the two biggest vote losers, according to business voters, are Labour’s capital gains tax (59% opposed) and National’s state asset sales (46% opposed).

Either major party could also stand to gain the business vote by finding ways for the Government to provide more direct investment into the economy. Funding R&D (popular with 58%), a buy ‘Kiwi-made’ policy for all central and local government agencies (51%), and more investment in key transport infrastructure (51%) are some of the most popular policy options for the New Zealand business community.

But the one area of policy that isn’t on any party’s radar at the moment is a focus on simplifying businesses’ compliance burden. This is not a plea by business owners to reduce taxes, but rather to make the business tax regime easier to understand and manage.

This is highlighted in the MYOB Business Monitor in the most popular policy option for business owners: nearly three quarters (74%) of business voters say an initiative to simplify provisional tax rules would win their vote.

While simplifying tax rules isn’t the sort of policy likely to set the crowds alight on the election trail, it’s clearly a massive vote winner. And with over 400,000 voters at stake, on who’s personal success or failure depends the fate of the economy, it might be enough to win some long-term loyalty – or change some minds – before the election.

What do you think?  Do any of the political parties’ policies resonate with you as a small business owner?  What policies would secure your business vote?

Julian Smith | General Manager – MYOB

Strong on attack, with a solid defensive record and an excellent high performance strategy – it’s a good time to be backing the Kiwi team at the moment.

But I’m not talking about the ABs, who I’m confident will follow up Sunday’s excellent performance against the Wallabies last weekend to lift the Webb Ellis trophy on Sunday.

No, it’s NZ Inc that should be getting the praise from the local and international commentators at the moment. Our home team of business owners – large and small – have been a true showcase of what you can achieve through determination and strength, coupled with good tactics and a dash of confidence. Read more