NZ one of first to sign tax info sharing agreement with US

The Herald reports:

New Zealand has signed a deal with the United States which will allow it to find out whether multinationals are paying enough tax in this country.

Revenue Minister Judith Collins, who is at an OECD conference in Paris, said New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to sign such a bilateral agreement. She hailed it as “great news” in the fight to get large corporates to pay their fair share of tax.

Beginning in 2018, Inland Revenue will receive more information about US companies operating in New Zealand, and will reciprocate with information about NZ companies.

“This will further enhance Inland Revenue’s risk assessment processes to make sure that the right amount of tax is being paid,” Collins said.

That’s a very useful agreement. Being able to see how much tax the companies are paying in the US will help assessments as to how much they should pay in NZ.