Robyn Walker: Deloitte Tax Partner on the potential changes to KiwiSaver in Budget 2025

KiwiSaver's a hot topic in today's budget announcement.  

Low and middle income earners could be getting tax back on their contributions into the fund.  

Deloitte Tax Partner Robyn Walker told Mike Hosking it's a recommendation made by the tax working group.  

She says that will make a difference to people's savings. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
On the tax front. We've got the seventy five million
set aside for foreign investment, the Golden Visa's money for
movies and subsidies the other day. But a tax treatment
around the shares of employees at startups. Tax partner at Deloitte,
Robin Walker's with us. Robin morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
A lot of talk around key we Saber. Do you
expect to move well?

Speaker 2 (00:17):
I think the Minister of Finance has indicated something. What
that is hard to tell. If I was to take
a punt at what it could be, it could be
something that the Tax Working Group recommended, which was to
refund the tax that comes off the employer contributions into
Kiwi Saver for low and middle income earners. That's what
I would pack us a change.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
So the four and four could be right.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
I'm not sure about the four and four. It could
stay three and three, but let's not tax the three
that the employer is putting in, and that will make
it that will make a difference to people's savings.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Means testing does that help or hinder? I mean depends
on what you're looking at. It saves their money, but
it means testing a possibility and does that change the
game in any great way.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Hard to say. I mean, it's really something where you've
got to look at as the compliance costs and all
the rigor that goes around means testing worth it? Possibly not.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Do you see depreciation as a major play today.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, it would be nice, but depreciation changes are actually
really expensive. Probably one of the things I'd say is,
I mean, this government likes to tweak around the edges.
What are things that are just annoying niggles that add
compliance costs reduce productivity. So you know, if they wanted
to do something simple around appreciation, you could look at
rules when you buy low value assets and make it

(01:38):
easier to just expense things. Currently there's a whole heap
of complicated rules that say, you know, if I buy
a chair that costs five hundred dollars, I can expense that,
But if I buy three cheers, I can't expense them.
I have to capitalize them if I buy them all together.
Things like that would be great to see those sorts
of rules. Tweet.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
Are they pulling every lever that you can see for
you know, pro growth get this country off its knees?
Are they pulling everything they can.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
They're definitely having a good look. The problem that we've
got is that tax changes through cost money as well,
so it's it's finding that balance between how do you
fund it and what actually makes the most difference.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
All right, Robin, appreciate it. Good luck today, Robin Walker,
text partner at Deloitte. For more from the My Asking Breakfast,
listen live to news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays,
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