PM expects Lime to pay fair share of tax
As it battles to get its scooters back on Auckland streets, Lime is now facing fresh scrutiny – this time about whether it is meeting its tax obligations in New Zealand.
The scooters were temporarily banned following safety concerns on Friday by both Auckland Council and Dunedin City Council.
As of yesterday afternoon, Auckland Council had yet to announce whether it would allow the scooters back on the streets.
The glitch caused e-scooter wheels to randomly lock up, leaving some riders with broken bones and smashed faces after they were thrown off mid-ride.
If and when they do return, there still appears to be no way for riders to access a GST receipt for their use.
Inland Revenue confirmed to Stuff that when a taxable supply exceeds $50, a GST-registered recipient can request a tax invoice and it must be supplied within 28 days.
If not supplied, it is an ‘‘absolute liability offence’’, with a fine of $4000 for a first offence.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern welcomed the electric scooter hire company as an ‘‘alternative form of transport’’ yesterday, but said she supported Auckland Council in its efforts to tighten safety regulations.
‘‘That’s something that I see council really grappling with, that’s a legitimate discussion to be had as these new options emerge.’’
But Ardern said she also expected the company to be paying its fair share of tax.
‘‘I can’t simply log on to look into people’s tax payment and status’’, Ardern told Stuff, but noted she had seen ‘‘public comment from a Lime representative out of Australia’’ that it pays GST in New Zealand.
‘‘Our expectation is that companies pay their fair share.’’
Stuff’s attempts to confirm whether the scooter-hire company pays GST in New Zealand, and whether riders were able to access GST receipts, have so far not been answered by Lime.
Its representative didn’t respond to questions about whether the company was registered with the New Zealand Companies Office under the name Lime Technologies.
The company is linked to the co-founder and chief executive of Lime Network BV, Weiyao Sun, based on publicly available documents featured on the Companies Office website.
The Labour-led Government has moved to force major multinationals operating here to pay their ‘‘fair share’’ of tax.
A new law took effect from July 1 last year, and was touted at the time by Revenue Minister Stuart Nash as ensuring ‘‘multinationals pay tax based on the actual economic activity they carry out in New Zealand.
‘‘It is not in the interest of New Zealand taxpayers if multinational companies avoid paying taxes here. The changes address the problem of companies operating cross-border and using aggressive tax structuring to reduce the tax they pay’’ Nash said at the time.
Inland Revenue estimated an extra $200 million of tax revenue each year.
On Monday, Auckland Council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton said it had asked Lime for further information over safety issues with the scooters, ‘‘and have suspended their licence until such time as we are comfortable with their response’’.
‘‘We are expecting to hear back from them early this week and will then need to consider this information before making any further decisions.’’
Lime told Stuff on Saturday the bug had already been fixed thanks to a firmware update.
‘‘That update has eliminated [the glitch] and will reduce the number of incidents,’’ Mitchell Price, Lime’s director of government affairs and strategy, said.