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A number of parents who had taken paid parental leave complained they had been tax bills of thousands of dollars. (Stock image) Photo: Supplied/ NZ Human Rights Commission Nearly 30 percent of people who take paid parental leave are then sent tax bills, Inland Revenue data shows. Earlier this year, a number of parents who had taken paid parental leave complained they had been handed bills of thousands of dollars. Tax data from Inland Revenue shows that the number of people who had been on paid parental leave in the last tax year and ended up with a bill was on par with recent years. There were 13,261 paid parental leave recipients who had been found to owe tax in the 2024 year, or 27 percent. That compared to 28 percent last year and 29 percent the year before. Deloitte tax partner Roby...

Laybuy has been bought by a Swedish firm, that says the service will be relaunched. Photo: Screenshot Laybuy is coming back. The buy-now-pay-later provider announced in June it was reporting receivers, blaming an economic downturn that had been more drawn-out than expected. Customers were told they could not make new transactions from that point. Swedish fintech company Klarna said on Wednesday it had bought Laybuy's asserts in New Zealand and planned to relaunch the service in the coming weeks. The company said Laybuy's customers would "benefit from a revitalised platform". "Laybuy established itself as a cherished brand in New Zealand and we're excited to build on those foundations to take Laybuy to new heights under the Klarna umbrella," said Klarna chief commercial officer David Syk...

Photo: 123RF Mercury has more than doubled its full-year profit, as operating earnings improved thanks to high wholesale electricity prices and changes in the value of unhedged financial assets. Key numbers for the 12 months ended June compared with a year ago: Net profit $290m vs $103m Revenue $3.42b vs $2.73b Operating earnings $877m vs $841m Final dividend 14 cents per share vs 13.1 cps Mercury said hydro generation of 4096 gigawatts was down 21 percent on the prior year's record generation as lake levels fell due to low rainfall. Operating earnings rose by $36 million, supported by an increased trading margin of $1.23 billion (up $65m from 2023), driven by high wholesale power prices and new wind generation from the Kaiwera Downs wind farm. Its net profit w...

Budgeting how to is finding fans on social media. Photo: IGOR STEVANOVIC / SCIENCE PHOTO Social media trends tend to focus on holidays, partying and dining out - it's all about spending money to feel good. But some influencers are encouraging their followers to save money instead. American comedian and influencer Lukas Battle went viral at the beginning of 2024 for promoting the idea of loud budgeting. It was all about being vocal with your financial decisions. Lara Meyer from New Zealand finance site Sorted said while loud budgeting requires some courage it was good for your bank account in the long run. "There's always gonna be times in life when we need to make the decision that 'actually, I can't afford this', and it does take a little bit of courage." "I'm in that situation at the ...

File pic Photo: Unsplash / Abdul Zreika Fletcher Building has reported a full year loss of $227 million, with revenue little changed from the year earlier. The building company's underlying profit was at the low end of expectations at $509m but still down 35 percent on the year earlier. Key numbers for the 12 months ended June compared with a year ago: Net profit $227m vs $235m (included $301m in one-time items) Revenue $7.683b vs $7.679b Underlying profit $509m vs $785m Full year dividend nil vs 34 cents per share Acting chief executive Nick Traber said the result reflected slowing demand, inflation and competitive pressures. He said market volumes fell over the year, with New Zealand down 25 percent and Australia down 15 percent on the year earlier. "We expect the year ahead to rema...

Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit Photo: Zespri / supplied Kiwifruit company Zespri continues to crack down on illegal plantings of its SunGold variety in China with three people being sentenced to nearly four years in jail for their involvement in the trade of the fruit. Chinese growers have been illegally planting SunGold or G3, which Zespri owns the rights to, since 2016 when a grower took clippings to China. Zespri has since been working with authorities there to crack down on fraudulent plantings and use of counterfeit packaging. The company said as part of ongoing legal activity to protect the Zespri brand, it recently completed successful prosecutions against three individuals in China for online sales of locally grown fruit with counterfeit Zespri labels to the value of more than NZ$700,...