New Zealand is a society built on volunteerism – I’m involved in a number of voluntary organisations, as a fire fighter, a paramedic, a board member and an advisor. All of this I do primarily for altruistic reasons. Altruism however is different from charity and I tend to shy away from roles where I need to donate more than just my time and skills.
I was amazed to read this morning that the Inland Revenue Department is taxing mileage reimbursements for voluntary workers while leaving mileage reimbursements for employees untaxed. To give an example;
Jim is a voluntary committee member, as part of his duties he is asked to attend a course away from home. He is paid a reimbursement for his mileage which the IRD tax
Joan is an employee of an organisation, she also has to attend the same course and is paid a mileage reimbursement. As an employee however her reimbursement is tax free!
Is it just me or is this bizarre?
Ben Kepes is an analyst, an entrepreneur, a commentator and a business adviser. His business interests include a diverse range of industries from manufacturing to property to technology. As a technology commentator he has a broad presence both in the traditional media and extensively online. Ben covers the convergance of technology, mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the Cloud. His areas of interest extend to enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users. 