In order to cement the crypto tax regulation in the country, New Zealand’s Inland Revenue Department has made it legal for local residents to receive their salaries via cryptocurrencies.
The IRD made this announcement via its August bulletin, where it’s clearly indicated that as long as it counts as remuneration for services provided, a resident of New Zealand is eligible to receive parts or all of their salary in crypto assets. However, all of this falls under the Income Tax Act, meaning that crypto holders will be identified and taxed accordingly.
Almost every single cryptocurrency applies to the new law as long as it has enough liquidity to be exchanged into fiat currency without any issues or is guaranteed its value by other financial assets such as fiat currencies of various nations.
The good news is that Kiwis will not have to pay the tax themselves, the income tax will be deducted from they pay just like it would with fiat currencies in a “normal” situation. Therefore it’s up to the employers themselves to calculate the due tax and file it accordingly.
Overall, it’s believed that this is a major step for Kiwis to adopt a crypto-friendly economy on their island. Whether or not that environment will be heavily centralized or allowed some decentralization still remains to be seen though.
