The Government has announced that it will introduce legislation to Parliament to provide that assisting low-income families into home ownership will be exempt from income tax.
The law change is considered necessary after the Charities Commission (the functions of which have been taken over by the Department of Internal Affairs – Charities) decided that assisting people into home ownership was not always charitable. These decisions, which have been confirmed by the High Court have resulted in a charitable trust being deregistered (Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust) another having its registration re-instated (Liberty Trust); and have left a number of trusts uncertain about their tax status or facing unexpected tax liabilities.
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