On a slightly different matter. A friend of mine owned a business and made enough to afford to purchase a property (office cum warehouse) for his business. I asked why don't he buy instead of rent? He said his accountant told him to rent, don't buy, to reduce his tax. He heeded his accountant's advice. 30 years later, he retired, his cash savings was nowhere near the value of the property he didn't buy. Had he purchased the property, at least he has two options - rent out the property for his retirement income or sell it and realise the capital gain (no tax) which far exceeds the tax savings during his business trading years. Penny wise pound foolish, eh?

Great article and points made, Andy. I had to explain recently and demonstrate these very points to a very senior professional trustee. I was instructed by the trustee to "make the portfolio tax efficient." I guess, from a CA point of view, that made sense to her. As luck would have it, the newly appointed CA completing the accounts didn't quite see it that way and agreed with my advice and your article.

Remember that New Zealand did not have bodies overwhelming morgues in the midst of the pandemic so we didn't see a spike in deaths - unlike a lot of other countries. Hence no panic to get cover.