The wine industry is welcoming new changes to the way small vineyards are taxed, making it easier to manage their accounts.

Starting on the first of July, wineries with tax liability of less than $50,000 will be able to pay their excise tax annually, rather than monthly.

Wineries with a liability of between 50 and $100,000 can pay every 6 months, while those over $100,000 – about half of all producers, will stay with the current monthly system.

Industry lobby group New Zealand Winegrowers has welcomed the news, saying it comes at a tough time for kiwi vineyards.

CEO Philip Gregan says the changes will help small businesses manage their cashflows by aligning payments with income.

“The smaller wineries will benefit in a cashflow sense.

“If they were paying it monthly, they’re now paying 6 monthly or yearly.

“Those wineries that aren’t affected are still facing the fundamental problems we’ve always had with excise – passing on the cost increases and the cashflow issues it generates.”

Te Mata Estate Chairman and former head of the Wine Institute, John Buck, agrees – but says there are other issues to be considered.

“It’s an inefficient form of gathering excise, and what we really need is the government to sit down with the wine industry and find some efficient minds to design a taxation system which is appropriate for it.

“Rather than taking a crap system and fiddling around the edges with it.”

The wine industry is currently worth more than a billion dollars to the New Zealand economy.