Originally Posted by
jawnbc
Mostly true. Overseas income is taxed; overseas assets are exempt for the 48 months. Just met with an accountant last week!
As stated above in my post, all offshore income (other than income derived from personal services) is exempt from NZ tax for the first 48 months of a new migrant's time in NZ. It is incorrect to state that "overseas income is taxed", as this implies all overseas income is taxed during the 48 month period whereas only personal services income derived offshore is taxable. I am not sure what the accountant said, but I am a tax specialist and so that everyone has some certainty in this area I have copied and pasted below the relevant extract from the tax legislation (S CW 27 Income Tax Act 2007):
"
Certain income of transitional resident
CW 27 Certain income derived by transitional resident
Income derived by a person who is a transitional resident is exempt income if the income is a foreign-sourced amount that is none of the following:
(a) employment income of a type described in section CE 1 (Amounts derived in connection with employment) in connection with employment or service performed while the person is a transitional resident:
(b) income from a supply of services"