The Government says it will consider proposals made by the accountants industry body to simplify the tax system for small and medium businesses.
The New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants yesterday released a paper recommending annual tax returns for small businesses be abolished in favour of more regular tax payments aligned with GST.
Institute tax director Craig Macalister said the tax system had become overly complex.
"We propose a rule of one for small business. No more than one hour, one return, and one payment each month for income tax and GST compliance," Macalister said.
"By our calculation, that's thousands of hours freed up from compliance to focus on what small business owners do best."