Squillions is known for offering top-notch consulting services in data and policy analysis for local and central government agencies, as well as not-for-profit organisations.
Nigel’s impressive background includes working with a diverse range of clients such as Housing and Urban Development, Inland Revenue, the Independent Children’s Monitor, Regional Skills Leadership Group, and a number of local bodies, private organisations and various not-for-profit-sector organisations.
Nigel’s contribution to this pivotal project highlights the expertise and commitment of Te Awamutu’s local talent.
He was born and raised in Waipā and moved back about eight years ago after a stint in Wellington.
The increasing use of technology in business allowed him to keep in contact with his professional networks.
“I can basically run my business from anywhere, Covid only accelerated the trend that was already happening with remote work,” says Nigel.
After leaving Te Awamutu College, he attended the University of Waikato where he completed his Bachelor of Management Studies (Hons), majoring in economics.
He worked for Statistics New Zealand for about six months, then joined Infometrics, where he stayed for over 10 years.
Nigel rose through the ranks to be a director, but moved back to Te Awamutu for the lifestyle, to be with family and work towards his own consultancy business.
He continued to contract work from his home office for a term, and over the past few years has established and grown Squillions.
Nigel thinks small towns like Te Awamutu will benefit as more people choose to move out of the big cities, chasing the lifestyle or being closer to family, just as he did.
“It’s a dream of many young city dwellers to own a larger slice of paradise, run a few cattle or plant an orchard, but it’s hard to do that in Wellington or Auckland,” he says.
“Te Awamutu has a lot to offer young professionals looking to settle down.”
Nigel has also proved that living in the regions doesn’t prejudice opportunities to undertake highly important work.
For him, a huge focus for the past 18 months has been the High Wealth Individuals Research Project.
Nigel says he enjoys work that is interesting and demanding, so the project was exactly the challenge he was keen to get his teeth into.
Contractually, he can’t give too much away about his role on the project, but he says it was perfect for his skill set.
He specialises in data finding, analysing and presenting it to clients, as well as making recommendations based on data.
“My work is typically used to get a view of the future, make demographic projections, create scenarios to guide decision-making and give businesses and organisations tools for planning,” he says.
“Luckily, I don’t have to promote myself, I’m generally found through word of mouth and by recommendation.
“This is how I found myself on the High Wealth Individuals Research Project.”
The groundbreaking IRD report, championed by Revenue Minister David Parker, analysed the full income information of 311 of New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens.
The findings show the average person in this group pays an effective tax rate of only 8.9 per cent on their economic income. In contrast, most Kiwis pay more than twice that amount, with someone earning a salary of $80,000 paying 22 per cent tax on that income, excluding GST.
When GST is taken into account, the effective tax rate for the wealthiest citizens rises to 9.5 per cent, while for the person earning $80,000, it goes up to aabout 28 or 29 per cent.
The report outlines that the disparity is due to the fact the very wealthy earn a smaller portion of their income from wages and salaries, compared with most New Zealanders.
“Economic income”, as defined in the report, is any increase in a person’s net worth.
If a wage earner manages to save $100,000 to spend or invest, a significant proportion of that amount will be subject to taxation.
If the value of an investment increases by $100,000, in many situations little to no tax will be due, even when the investment is sold.
The report is particularly noteworthy because it was able to use real data due to a 2020 law change by the Government that enabled the IRD to require high-wealth individuals to provide their earnings data for this research, making it a more accurate representation of the present tax situation.
A simultaneously released report by Treasury found the general population pays an effective 20.2 per cent tax rate across all income sources.
The discrepancy has reignited the debate on capital gains tax, given New Zealand is one of just a few developed countries with no such tax, but that is a whole other matter yet to be concluded.
