13/06/2025
Thank you for continuing to bring issues like this to our attention.
Keep up the good work Forest & Bird.
🚨 Surprised to see wetland destruction listed as a tax-deductible expense? So were we.
Forest & Bird has raised concerns with Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake after it released official tax guidance that uses the example of draining a wetland as a business expense eligible for a deduction.
💧 Wetlands are precious taonga 💚 Home to endangered species, they provide natural flood protection and are key to clean water & climate resilience.
📄 Draining wetlands is usually illegal and undermines NZ’s conservation and climate goals, yet the IRD seems to be promoting it as a smart financial move!?
💬 “We had to read this twice to believe it,” says Forest & Bird’s Regional Conservation Manager, Scott Burnett. “I'd have hoped that IRD would have looked at their examples carefully and made sure they were watertight. This is just really unhelpful and actually sends the wrong signals at a time when environmental protection has never been more urgent.
"What is even scarier is that the government has recently put out proposals that are looking to actually weaken wetland protections, opening the door to destruction of some of the few that we have left.”
❗We’ve flagged this to IRD and have asked them to remove this example and align with New Zealand’s environmental laws and conservation goals.
Ultimately, we need focused, national, and regional efforts to protect and restore our few remaining wetlands. Since European settlement, New Zealand has lost around 90% of its wetlands – and government agencies, community groups, and taxpayers are investing millions into their restoration.
👉 Read more: https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/ird-offers-tax-tips-destroying-precious-wetlands
📷 Kōtuku ngutupapa Royal Spoonbills, Tahuna Torea Wetland. Credit Josh Jones.
