Tax matters are not at the forefront of most people's minds at this time of year, but the wind down for the holiday period provides an opportune time to look forward to the coming year and consider what it may bring on the tax front.
At an international level, the term "BEPS" ("base erosion and profit shifting") is the current buzz word among the tax community and media.
Essentially this refers to strategies employed by multi-national enterprises to shift taxable profits to jurisdictions with no or low tax. Plenty has been said in the media recently about how little tax the likes of Google or Apple pay in certain countries relative to the income earned from those countries.
However, the issue is broader than that as, for example, many New Zealand companies seek to ensure tax is only paid in New Zealand irrespective of where they trade.
Although that may seem a bit distant from the activities of businesses locally, BEPS work is being undertaken by our government and others around the world to address this problem and to ensure our tax rules work sensibly in the digital age. The IRD recently released a policy document in this area which noted several issues of focus over the coming year.