Quote Originally Posted by herbert240 View Post
Yes, in a way I am surprised too 777. FNZ ,Custodian for Fisher Funds Investments (and other coys also I imagine) send out their Tax User Guide with their Tax Report to assist with tax return preparation. They repeatedly state that investors should seek advice from a professional tax adviser. I have difficulty knowing who that brilliant person would be. I asked my accountant but he wasn't sure and said he would have to go to a third party (not sure who) and that while it would be a definitive answer it would cost $150.00!! Beats me why it has to be so difficult. In the guide FNZ say they assume fees and charges are deductible (item 20 in the report )and even show what box to put item 20 expenses in the IR3! Hello?!

I think I may have opened a "can of worms" and I wonder how many other Fisher Funds investors have filed incorrect tax returns over the years which IRD have accepted... up until now!
No surprise here - I can assure you if you lived in Canada or in the US and had a CFP handling your investments, they would know exactly of your tax situation. I don't know why in NZ CFPs here will not give advice on taxation. It's almost like they're so useless to begin with yet the NZ FMA insists these groups of people need to be regulated by them when they offer little advice to begin with. I will tell you, if more widely knowledge in NZ was provided to investors into say Kiwi Saver or managed fund, you will find more and more would not bother and go with the investing in residential property way. What i've seen is the way shares and KS has been marketed in NZ, the complexities of it adds to it's appeal (maybe?).

$150 is cheap - I know accountants that charge $400/hr.