Day 9… and the sun is trying to break out .. looks like it might have a bit of the cabin fever as well!. Hope all of you are safe and lock down life is taking on some sort of routine for you.
This email gives a couple of updates on the Government announcements, lease issues that are arising and lastly some advice on upcoming tax payments.
Government Announcements – on Wednesday it was announced that the Business Finance Guarantee scheme was in place with the banks. Each bank will have its own criteria so it will be worth contacting your bank to discuss what options they now have to assist. Also murmurings around further business support being worked on but we will wait and see.
Lease Issues – have been having a lot of discussions with both landlords and tenants over this time as there is uncertainty for both parties on the rights of each at this time. I have seen tenants looking to pay no rent through to asking for 80% reductions and then have seen landlords charging no rent through to giving no relief – so a real “box of chocolates”. This is a legal field but a couple of things to consider:
1. If your lease is a more recent one you may have a clause 27.5 No access in Emergency clause that was inserted into ADLS leases after the Christchurch earthquakes. This clause allows the landlord and tenant to work through and agree on a fair proportion or rent and outgoings that each party should pay until access is restored; and
2. Both parties need to keep in mind that a commercial lease arrangement is a long term relationship .. so while you as the tenant may get a “win” on this one by pushing hard, there is more than likely to be an event where the landlord is likely to get a greater “win” .. both parties need to fairly shoulder the burden of the situation.
Upcoming Tax Payments – nothing has changed in this space since Monday (read the blog here). So, there are 2 options with the 7 April payment:
1. Pay on the due date if you are able; or
2. Contact the IRD before (not on the 7th) and enter into an instalment arrangement to pay off the tax. Click here for more details on the IRD website.
With Option 1, please read this blog which includes details on making payments to the IRD to make sure you get it right.
Under option 2, you can apply for an instalment arrangement through myIR. We would recommend that it is done this way as contacting the IRD at this time could be difficult. If you haven’t got a myIR account, click here to go to the IRD website and then click register in the top right hand corner. The IRD has said that, if the inability to pay your taxes is due to the impact of COVID-19, penalties and interest will be written off. If you require any assistance with this, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Take care and keep safe