NEW ZEALAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Greg Neill, Fred Ward and Callum Burnett, Russell McVeagh
Nevis. These will all enter into force once the relevant countries have notified each other that they have com - pleted the necessary domestic procedures. Adoption of international transparency standards: cryptocurrency reporting Another development in New Zealand’s international tax policy is the adoption of the OECD’s Crypto‑Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). The CARF was incor - porated into domestic legislation through the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024–25, Emergency Response, and Remedial Matters) Act 2025, enacted on 29 March 2025. Under the new rules, from 1 April 2026, New Zea - land‑based reporting crypto‑asset service providers must collect detailed user and transaction information and report this information to New Zealand’s Inland Revenue. The reporting obligations require entities or individuals that provide services facilitating the exchange or conversion of crypto-assets for or on behalf of customers to collect and provide aggregate data on relevant crypto‑asset transactions and to maintain records for at least seven years. Crypto‑asset users will also have obligations to supply information to service providers where necessary for compliance with the CARF. Monetary penalties will apply in cases of non‑compliance for both service providers and users. Users may face penalties of NZD1,000 for the failure to provide information, whereas service pro - viders may face penalties of up to NZD100,000 for failure to take reasonable care to comply with their obligations.
The introduction of the CARF aligns New Zealand with emerging global standards on crypto‑asset transpar - ency and reflects increased emphasis on cross‑border information exchange and integrity within the tax sys - tem. Withdrawal of the Digital Services Tax Bill Finally, in May 2025, the current coalition Government formally abandoned efforts by the previous govern - ment to enact a digital services tax. The previous gov - ernment introduced a Bill that would have imposed a 3% levy on New Zealand‑sourced digital revenues of large multinational entities that met specified cri - teria. The Bill did not progress through the House and remained tabled, pending further action by the Government. However, the Government has since announced that international developments on the progress of the OECD Pillar One solution has made domestic action unnecessary and potentially counter - productive. As a result, the current Government is not expected to pursue a digital services tax or any similar unilateral measures.
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