2006 media archives

NZ business tax regime ranked 10th easiest

5 December 2006

New Zealand is ranked 10th in the world for ease of complying with business tax regimes, according to a World Bank/PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

The top three countries were the Maldives, Ireland and Oman. Australia ranked 35th.

New Zealand businesses spent an average 70 hours per year complying with tax requirements.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen says the ranking is "further proof of the progress this government has made in improving the competitiveness of businesses, especially with Australia."

Mr Cullen says if "tax havens and oil producers" are excluded New Zealand's ranking rises to fifth in the world.

"We are also the first country in the world to rewrite its core income tax legislation in plain English with a new Income Tax Bill recently introduced after 15 years of deliberation."

Source: National Business Review

NZ judged least corrupt

8 November 2006

A new survey by Transparency International says New Zealand is the least corrupt country in the world, along with Finland and Iceland.

The Europe-based anti-corruption watchdog calculates a 'Corruption Perceptions Index' by combining data from a number of different sources over the past two years, including the World Bank, the Economist Intelligence Unit and the World Economic Forum.

New Zealand, Finland and Iceland all scored 9.6 from a possible 10 .

Australia ranks ninth in this year's survey, with the United Kingdom on 11th, Canada on 14th and Germany, Japan and France taking 16th, 17th and 18th places respectively.

The US is ranked 20th.

At the other end of the table, Guinea, Iraq and Myanmar were in a tie for 160th, while the most corrupt country of all was judged to be Haiti.

Source: National Business Review

Click here for the complete Corruption Perception Index

New Zealand has been voted second-best country in the world by readers of the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller (UK) magazine.

5 September 2006

Announced last night in London, the awards were voted on by readers of Condé Nast Traveller magazine.

Thirty thousand readers voted in the awards, naming Italy top country with a score of 95.57 out of a possible 100, followed by New Zealand (94.81) and Australia (94.44).

Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton says the award shows the success of New Zealand's positioning as a quality destination.

"We are still a small player on the world 'tourism stage', but by consistently appearing in these sorts of awards and reader votes, we are showing that our tourism offering matches up, or exceeds, the best that the world has to offer."

Huka Lodge was voted 5th in the Australasia & Pacific Lodge category, with Blanket Bay lodge coming in 12th and Wharekauhau lodge 19th. Air New Zealand was sixth in the long-haul airline category and Polynesian Spa in Rotorua was 15th in the Destination Spa category.

Condé Nast Traveller magazine has a circulation of 84,737.

Source: National Business Review