INTHEBLACK August 2022 - Magazine - Page 18
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// FAS T F O C U S
STORY GARY ANDERS
New Zealand’s Generic
Tax Policy Process
(GTPP) has been in
place since 1994 and
is well regarded for its
focus on consultation
through public
engagement.
Under the GTPP, the
development of tax
policies follows a fivestage system:
strategic, tactical,
operational, legislative
and implementation/
review.
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Tax Policy Reforms
2021 from the
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AT A
GLANCE
THE “GOLD
STANDARD”
FOR TAX
N E W Z E A L A N D ’ S G E N E R I C TA X P O L I C Y
PROCESS IS CONSIDERED BEST
P R A C T I C E F O R TA X P O L I C Y, W I T H I T S
A P P R O A C H T O E A R LY A N D O N G O I N G
P U B L I C E N G A G E M E N T.
F
or decades, New Zealand’s Generic Tax Policy
Process (GTPP) has been widely regarded as the
gold standard for developing tax policy.
Rather than tax policies being created in isolation by
New Zealand’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and
Treasury, then enacted through legislation, a core
component of the GTPP framework since it was introduced
in 1994 has been early and ongoing public engagement.
Following a detailed review, the GTPP was amended
for the first time in 2019 to incorporate social
engagement into New Zealand’s wider consultative
approach for tax policy development.
The IRD committed to having wider, earlier and more
frequent public consultation, including with the Maori
community, the use of a greater variety of engagement
methods and more transparency and accountability.
“The purpose of interacting with the public is to
improve customer, policy and regulatory outcomes
and to inform stakeholders in advance of regulatory
changes,” the IRD says.
“Submitters will often have better access to
information on the size and nature of the problem and
how the issues can best be solved.
“Consultation can also enhance voluntary compliance,
because it allows interested parties more time to
understand why there is a need to change, and more
time to adjust to changes.”
FIVE KEY PROCESS PHASES
The development of tax policy in New Zealand using
the GTPP framework encompasses five key phases.
18 ITB August 2022