Rewrite Advisory Panel
Encyclopedia
The Rewrite Advisory Panel (New Zealand) was established in 1995 to consider and advise on issues arising during the rewriting of the income tax legislation. It was a step in the rewrite of New Zealand's income tax legislation that was recommended by the Working Party on the Reorganisation of the Income Tax Act 1976
. The Rewrite process was intended to produce more readable and clearer legislation.
The Rewrite process began with the enactment of the Income Tax Act 1994, which adopted alpha-numerical numbering of income tax legislation. In 1996, amendments were enacted to the "Core Provisions" of the Act (in Part B). Parts C, D and E were rewritten and enacted in a complete Act, the Income Tax Act 2004. The final step in the Rewrite process was the enactment of the Income Tax Act 2007, in which all the remaining parts of the Act were rewritten in Rewrite style.
The Panel initially supervised the rewrite process and since 2004 it has been responsible for considering submissions that there have been errors in the rewrite process (referred to as "unintended legislative changes" (or "ULC")). It has the power to recommend that the legislation be amended retrospectively where the Panel determines that there is a ULC.
The Panel has an ongoing role in ensuring that the 2007 Act has "a continuing consistency with the objectives of the Rewrite Project" according to Hon Dr Michael Cullen in a speech made in 2008 when he was Minister of Finance.
The Panel is also to provide advice on remedial issues.
who chaired the Panel until June 2008, after the enactment of the Income Tax Act 2007. The current Chair is David McLay, a tax barrister.
Working Party on the Reorganisation of the Income Tax Act 1976
The Working Party on the Reorganisation of the Income Tax Act 1976 was a committee appointed by the New Zealand government to advise on the appropriate reorganisation of the income tax legislation. The Working Party was set up in 1993 as a result of recommendations made by the Valabh Committee set...
. The Rewrite process was intended to produce more readable and clearer legislation.
The Rewrite process began with the enactment of the Income Tax Act 1994, which adopted alpha-numerical numbering of income tax legislation. In 1996, amendments were enacted to the "Core Provisions" of the Act (in Part B). Parts C, D and E were rewritten and enacted in a complete Act, the Income Tax Act 2004. The final step in the Rewrite process was the enactment of the Income Tax Act 2007, in which all the remaining parts of the Act were rewritten in Rewrite style.
The Panel initially supervised the rewrite process and since 2004 it has been responsible for considering submissions that there have been errors in the rewrite process (referred to as "unintended legislative changes" (or "ULC")). It has the power to recommend that the legislation be amended retrospectively where the Panel determines that there is a ULC.
The Panel has an ongoing role in ensuring that the 2007 Act has "a continuing consistency with the objectives of the Rewrite Project" according to Hon Dr Michael Cullen in a speech made in 2008 when he was Minister of Finance.
The Panel is also to provide advice on remedial issues.
Panel Membership
The Panel comprises representatives of Inland Revenue and the Treasury, and of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand and the New Zealand Law Society. The independent Chair is appointed by the Minister of Revenue. The first Chair was Colin Blair, who resigned in 2003 upon being appointed the Retirement Commissioner. His successor was Sir Ivor RichardsonIvor Richardson
Sir Ivor Lloyd Morgan Richardson, PCNZM is an eminent New Zealand and Commonwealth jurist and legal writer and a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.-Education:...
who chaired the Panel until June 2008, after the enactment of the Income Tax Act 2007. The current Chair is David McLay, a tax barrister.