Best of Business

There’s a view we're an international outlier with our labelling regulations. 

The standards are under review from the Ministry for Regulation in its latest attack on red tape. 

Minister David Seymour says the labelling codes seem overly restrictive. 

He says for example, Chemist Warehouse has someone employed full time to check labels. 

BusinessNZ CEO Katherine Rich told Mike Hosking it's an issue for overseas ...

Fuel taxes are set to be replaced by road user charges for all vehicles - and it's left many wondering how these changes will be implemented.

Eroad has welcomed this development, and their share price has risen in the hours since Transport Minister Chris Bishop made this announcement.

Eroad co-CEO Mark Heine says the company's been making use of electronic road user charges (eRUC) for years and says the technology's there to get th...

A temporary shutdown may be on the cards for fertiliser manufacturer Ballance as it struggles to secure affordable gas.

The farmer and grower co-op says it may close its Kapuni plant for up to four months as a contingency.

The company manufactures about a third of New Zealand’s urea fertiliser each year.

Chief executive Kelvin Wickham says they aren't able to secure gas on a long-term basis. 

"We are hunting for short-term gas...

A tax expert says there is a concerning trend as businesses owe more and more to Inland Revenue.  

Businesses owe more than $1.4 billion in unpaid GST and PAYE from the 2025 tax year. 

Only $66 million of that is from businesses or individuals that are bankrupt or in liquidation. 

Deloitte Tax Partner Robyn Walker told Mike Hosking the construction sector alone owes about $1 billion.  

She says it is difficult t...

New Zealand businesses owe more than $1.4 billion in unpaid GST and PAYE from the 2025 tax year, according to new reports.

Of 2025's number, $432.9 million relates to employer activities and $1.047 billion to GST.

IRD Customer Segment Manager Tony Morris says this data's in line with what's happening overseas - but it's an area they aim to put more focus on.

"What we're seeing is a bit of an increase in the amount of companies gett...

The sluggish job market is another bump in our road to economic recovery, according to some recent predictions.

The unemployment rate's sitting at 5.2 percent - its highest point in five years. 

In late 2021, it was just 3.2 percent. 

Westpac senior economist, Michael Gordon, says it shows our economic slowdown's ongoing. 

He says it's not too surprising, given the Reserve Bank's moves to control inflation. 

"I ...

Economic recovery is taking longer than many hoped. 

Unemployment's risen to a five-year high of 5.2%, up from 5.1% in the March quarter. 

New Zealand officially moved out of recession last year. 

The Herald's Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham the job market is taking longer to catch up, so many people may not be feeling better off. 

He says economists can tell us numbers are improving, but it takes longer for life t...

New World customers are struggling to get their hands on Smeg kitchenware, available under a 12-week promotion.

They can collect one sticker for every $20 spent.

But the highest-value option, the braiser, is running out - and New World says there won't be any extra deliveries. 

Consumer NZ, CEO Jon Duffy, says New World has specified this is 'while stocks last'.

But he says it's also required by law to have appropriate stocks....

New Zealand's biggest energy players - Genesis, Meridian, Mercury and Contact - have formed a deal to stockpile coal at Huntly Power Station, and questions have been raised.

The energy companies say the shared strategic energy reserve will secure supply for the next decade. 

Minerals West Coast manager Patrick Phelps explained the nuances of this deal to the Afternoons team.

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Genesis Energy and the three other big power generators have signed agreements to establish a strategic energy reserve centred on Genesis’ Huntly Power Station.

The deals - aimed at supporting national security of power supply - have been settled by Genesis, Meridian Energy, Mercury NZ and Contact Energy.

The parties intend for the agreements to take effect from January 1, 2026.

Genesis Energy chief executive Malcolm Johns says the...

The Finance Minister reckons New Zealand will eventually be able to work out a better deal with the Trump administration following last week's shock announcement.

President Donald Trump has unveiled a surprise 15 percent tariff on New Zealand - higher than that for both the UK and Australia. 

Finance Minister Nicola Willis says there's a possibility things could improve, given the changing trading relationship between both nat...

White-collar workers will be familiar with workplace annoyances - including unnecessary meetings, corporate acronyms and an overuse of LinkedIn - and it's all been observed by a pair of Aussie comedians.

The duo put modern workplace culture under the microscope in their book - 'Wankernomics'.

Co-author James Schloeffel says he's spent a long time in the corporate world and he's used this book to discuss the issues he's observed ove...

The Prime Minister has claimed it's 'unlikely' that New Zealand will be able to make Trump change his mind about the tariffs - and many experts agree with that sentiment.

Trump recently raised New Zealand's tariff rate to 15 percent, while keeping Australia and the UK at 10 percent.

Trade Minister Todd McClay will head to Washington in the coming weeks to argue our case, but Felicity Roxburgh from the International Business Forum a...

So, was our government too relaxed about the tariffs then?  

Cause this is a shock today – isn't it? To find out that we’ve just been bumped up to 15% while Australia and dozens of other countries have stayed on 10%. 

Now, it seems to be related, most likely, to our balance of trade and that the US has a trade deficit with us. So we get 15%, but then a trade surplus with Australia, so they get 10%. So perhaps it was inevi...