Racing industry wants it easier for good looking horses to get tax breaks

The Herald reports:

Just a handful of “standout” racehorses a year would qualify for Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ $4.8 million tax break, according to the racing industry.

Some are concerned that so few horses would meet the tax deduction threshold and have called for a rethink on what constitutes a “standout yearling”.

According to Budget documents from Treasury, a “standout yearling” is identified by the “virtue of its bloodlines, looks and racing potential”.

The only tax cut from this Government!

In Budget 2018, Peters earmarked $4.8 million over the next four years for tax deductions to be claimed for the costs of high-quality horses acquired with the intention to breed.

To qualify for the tax deduction, the horse would need to be worth at least $402,000 and must have been bought by a New Zealand resident who was a first-time horse breeding investor.

According to data from Karaka horse sales, – the biggest race and breeding horse sale of the year – which was read to MPs at this morning’s Finance and Expenditure select committee, the number of horses that would have met that threshold this year was just two.

Chapman Tripp Partner David Patterson, who was representing the racing bloodstock industry at the committee hearing, said the industry’s concern was that the legislation, as proposed, “may not deliver the intended benefit to the industry.”

He said the number of horses that should qualify for the tax deduction needs to be closer to 20 or 30, not a just a few.

Far better to just abolish the tax deduction so no horse qualifies. We don’t need more corporate welfare for racing.

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