Watch: Nicola Willis on what to expect from the Budget – no charities tax this year
Willis has previously said she wanted to stay within her $2.4 billion operating allowance for new spending – a sum Treasury thinks is already not enough to fund existing cost pressures.
That would mean departments would need to cut some spending to fund cost pressures.
Willis revealed on Newstalk ZB's Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Monday she would not be making tax changes to tax charities in the Budget.
The Government had openly been investigating changing the way charities are taxed so businesses that operate as charities are treated like businesses and pay company tax.
'I can confirm that [no changes are coming at the Budget] because we are continuing work in this area.
'We had a short, sharp consultation with the charities sector and that has thrown up two key things: that is the potential revenue the Government would get from this is pretty small ... at the most, $50 million a year, so it's not essential to our Budget that we hurry these changes through.
'What officials have advised is the consultation has uncovered a lot of complexity about definitions and rules and how charities would react in practice,' Willis said .
This could mean changes are coming in future, but not at the current Budget.
'I want to work through it carefully, I'm very committed to making sure we've got a fair system with high integrity. We will be making changes in this space but I don't want to rush it and get it wrong,' she said.
Thomas Coughlan is the NZ Herald Herald since 2021 and has worked in the Press Gallery since 2018.
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