10 minute read
PONSONBY PROFESSIONALS
SAM STEPNEY Where did you grow up? I grew up in Essex in England in a town situated on the border of Hertfordshire and London. I moved to New Zealand by myself in 2012 and settled on Auckland’s North Shore.
How did you get into Mortgage Broking? I’ve primarily worked in financial services and started in Fraud in banking and insurance. I transitioned into lending a few years ago when I recognised synergies to the fraud risk world and mortgage advising. I wanted to be more client facing and this role has enabled that.
What cliché do you most hate? I don’t actually know – there’s probably a few that I sigh to when I hear them.
What gives you joy? The small things bring me joy – being in nature and enjoying New Zealand’s beautiful landscapes. Coffee in the morning – one of my favourite rituals. Spending time with good people, exercising, new experiences, travel and enjoying some of New Zealand’s great wines.
If you won a $1million lotto prize today, what would you do with it? I would most likely purchase a few investment properties, gift to family and have some ‘fun’ money in the mix too.
What is most important to you in friendship? Authenticity on both parts.
What is your best movie ever? Shawshank Redemption – could watch it and have watched it several times.
What are the three words that give you inspiration? Believe – Accomplish – Gratitude.
What is a pet peeve? Someone who is chronically late – I think this devalues your time and commitment.
Tell us something very few people know about you. I was a dancer for 14 years growing up (ballet, tap, modern and Jazz), I reached professional levels in exams and part took in Pantomimes, shows etc, but decided to study Crime Scene and Forensic Investigation as an extension to my curiosity in Criminology growing up. ALEXANDER MCALPINE Where did you grow up? I am a local, grew up in the amazing suburb of Grey Lynn.
How did you get into Mortgage Broking? After working as a mobile mortgage manager at one of the big four banks, I thought, how else can I help my clients even more. The only way was to have access and work to a wide range of lenders and be able to provide tailored solutions to best suit customer needs. Mortgage broking was the natural progression.
What cliché do you most hate? Gingers cannot tan…some gingers can tan…slightly.
What gives you joy? Meeting new people from all walks of life. Travelling the world was also amazing pre Covid-19.
If you won a $1 million lotto prize today, what would you do with it? Be smart with it. Invest it and make it grow into $2 million. Then buy some toys with the $1 million.
What is most important to you in friendship? Trust and loyalty. Friends are there to push you to be a better person. They also should be brutally honest with no filter! Say it how it is.
What is your best movie ever? When I was a kid, it use to be Grease Lightning. Nowadays, I enjoy movies based on real life with a powerful message.
What are the three words that give you inspiration? Never give up.
What is a pet peeve? Negativity. People who say ‘they can’t do it’. Find a way to make it possible, if not now, then in the future.
Tell us something very few people know about you. I speak French. Bonjour!
Contact our Vega team on: Call 0800 834 253, Email: hello@vegalend.co.nz, www.vegalend.co.nz Facebook: @Vegalend, Instagram: @vega_lend Mortgages Ponsonby team 0800 834 253
One would have thought we would have heard plenty about tax policy from the major political parties given the expenditures on COVID-related support measures, and the fact that somebody actually needs to pay the bills being incurred.
To date we haven’t heard much at all, but we will at some stage, and then it seems inevitable there will be discussion around how to gather more taxes. Typically when this happens a number of urban myths crop up, often as what appears to be deliberate misdirection on the part of politicians. So here are a couple, with our take on them.
Myth 1: New Zealand is one of few developed countries that doesn’t tax capital gains Do not believe it. Some examples of ‘capital’ gains that are taxable in New Zealand include:
Land under many circumstances, including when it is acquired with any purpose of intention of disposing of it, or where 20% or more of any gain made on its sale within ten years is due to zoning or consenting changes or district plan changes or the likelihood of such changes, and including where it is ‘tainted’; Residential land disposed of within five years of acquiring it; Gains in relation to “financial arrangements” (debts or advances or similar), and including exchange gains (realised and often even unrealised), and including debt remissions; • are some types of income taxed at different rates to the ‘normal’ • are people permitted to file joint returns;
Gains made by a lessee on the disposal of ex-lease assets; Transfers of or withdrawals from overseas superannuation funds; Proceeds of selling any non-land property acquired with a dominant purpose of disposal (eg shares); Gains realised on overseas shares (not always, but often); Sale of shares where the sale proceeds are considered to be in lieu of dividends; Some capital distributions from companies and trusts;
There are more. But the point is, many so-called ‘capital’ gains are in fact taxable in New Zealand. To say New Zealand does not tax capital gains is simply not correct, although we do not have a “capital gains tax” as such.
Myth 2: Capital gains tax (CGT) is easy The common belief around capital gains tax is, you bought it for X and sell it for Y and the difference is taxable. The reality is the capital gains tax would be much more complicated than that. All of these things affect the ultimate tax payable, yet generally we avenues for legitimately reducing tax payable, so be very careful
It is worth noting the Tax Working Group in its report noted comments from Australian practitioners re CGT that for those affected by the rules, the rules “are complex and difficult to apply”.
CGT would be palatable so long as it was offset by reductions in income taxes elsewhere - in other words a CGT is not used as a device to increase government revenues but as a device to broaden the tax base as part of a tax-neutral package. We suspect CGT will raise its head again in the not too distant future and be justified on significantly reduce its expenditure). Myth 3: New Zealand’s tax rates are (too) low The myth is Australia’s top rate is 45% and also the UK’s top rate is 45%. Of course in comparison our top rate of 33% looks low.
Focussing on these headline rates alone is meaningless. We also need to understand things such as: tax rates; • at what income levels do these tax rates start applying; • what expenses or deductions are people allowed to claim for tax purposes; • are there tax concessions for income applied to certain things (like income diverted into self-managed super funds in Australia which is taxed at 15% and not at the normal tax rates), etc.
don’t hear anything about these other relevant factors when people ‘debate’ tax rates. Yes both the UK and Australia have top tax rates of 45%, however they also both have more concessions and potential the grounds the Government needs more revenue (and is unwilling to
when just comparing tax rates between countries.
The team at Johnston Associates wish the Ponsonby News readers all the very best in these hard times, and we are here if you need us! (LOGAN GRANGER) PN
Disclaimer – While all care has been taken, Johnston Associates Chartered Accountants Ltd and its staff accept no liability for the content of this article; always see your professional advisor before taking any action that you are unsure about.
JOHNSTON ASSOCIATES, 202 Ponsonby Road, T: 09 361 6701, www.jacal.co.nz
The value of advice
Traditionally New Zealanders have adopted a DIY approach to making and managing their investments, and they are mostly unfamiliar with the concept of paying for professional financial advice.
This may be due to a lack of confidence that the advice is of value, or not knowing where to source that advice.
Another possible reason is a failure of education, as empirical evidence shows that New Zealanders have a relatively low level of financial literacy, in that they cannot differentiate between investment and speculation.
For the record, investment is about making money by not losing it, whereas speculation is a form of gambling.
Investment will not necessarily make you rich, but, it will ensure that you are not poor.
Speculation may make you rich, but, like Lotto or horse racing, the chances of success are slim.
Retirement, like death and taxes, is inevitable, and the sensible approach to ensure that you will have sufficient resources to fund your preferred retirement lifestyle is investment, not speculation.
A successful retirement plan begins with determining a date for when you intend to cease paid employment, and deciding the amount of cash-flow required (either monthly or annually).
An assessment of your risk tolerance (for dealing with investment market fluctuations) is required before determining how your investment funds will be allocated within the four major asset classes: cash, bonds (fixed interest), property and equities (shares). The last piece of the puzzle is to stick with the plan to ensure your goals are achieved.
Your retirement plan should be flexible, as, with the best will in the world, your expectations will change along with the economic environment.
A trusted financial planner advising you on your retirement plan is the equivalent of your accountant or legal adviser who is there to help with your business, tax and succession matters (wills, powers of attorney or family trusts). A financial adviser is there to help you make the right decisions at the right times to achieve your goals and to protect your resources. In the current Covid-19 environment they will give you confidence that your current strategy is fit for purpose, whether you are saving for retirement (e.g., using KiwiSaver) or spending in retirement from your investment base.
When Covid-19 panic sent global investment markets into free -fall, many KiwiSavers, without advice, switched from growth to conservative or default investment portfolios, thereby crystallising a loss to their investment that could have been avoided with proper advice. These KiwiSavers also lost the opportunity, through ongoing contributions, to purchase low-priced investments prior to the market recovery. If they do not return to their original investment strategy, the loss of opportunity is likely to significantly undermine their future financial well-being and retirement lifestyle.
For retirees, cash-flow is essential to funding your lifestyle. There are a number of approaches to achieving this, but the safest and most certain is to have funds in a diversified investment strategy, preferably in managed funds, which will provide you with greater flexibility.
A trusted financial adviser can assist with this process, and their fee will be much less than the cost of not receiving that advice. www.gregmoyle.com/podcast
ONEPLAN, T: 0800 1plan4u, www.oneplan.co.nz
0800 1PLAN4U or 09 309 3680
