A bill enacting tax changes to help small businesses has passed its first reading in Parliament unanimously.
The changes, worth $480 million during the next four years, aim to improve the business environment by reducing the impact of taxes on firms' cashflow.
They include new rules for provisional tax payments and lower interest rates on underpaid tax and overpaid tax.
The GST payment threshold would rise from $40,000 to $60,000 dollars of GST turnover.
Revenue Minister Peter Dunne told Parliament the bill goes some way to reducing the cost and effort of tax compliance. Some of its measures, he said, will help businesses' cash flow by allowing them to hold onto tax money longer.
While Labour supports the bill, the party's finance spokesperson David Cunliffe said the measures are not bold enough.
Mr Cunliffe told Parliament a stronger economic plan is needed from Government to allow banks to free up funds to credit-thirsty businesses.
The Green Party says the Government is helping to relieve small businesses of some of their tax burden on the one hand, but on the other is pulling the rug from under them by removing the research and development tax credit.
