Local
Chinese probe noni options
Friday 8 July 2011 | Published in Local
A Chinese delegation is in Rarotonga scoping investment opportunities, including the possibility of Cook Islands noni juice being exported to China and blended with fruit juice on a mass scale. Members of the New Zealand Chinese Business Roundtable Council arrived on two Air Rarotonga flights from Niue yesterday afternoon. They are travelling with representatives from […]
Plans for Nadi flight shelved
Friday 8 July 2011 | Published in Local
Plans to establish a direct flight between the Cook Islands and Fiji have been dropped for the coming financial year. The Cook Islands government announced in December last year it would be underpinning a direct flight between Rarotonga and Nadi from this month. The planned route was to begin at the same time as the […]
Tax plan a hornets nest
Friday 8 July 2011 | Published in Local
Mitiaro MP Tangata Vavia says the proposed 15 percent tax on interest is like taking candy from a child. Yesterday he asked parliament to consider how the tax will discourage children from trusting in the principles of saving and investing. (A) kid will be disappointed to realise there is 15 cents taken out of that […]
CITC chairman blasts tax proposal
Friday 8 July 2011 | Published in Local
Cook Islands Trading Corporation (CITC) executive chairman Trevor Clarke has joined the growing chorus of people criticising the governments much-maligned proposal to introduce a withholding tax in the country. In a letter to the editor delivered to Cook Islands News yesterday, Clarke said the proposed 15 per cent tax on interest was not properly thought […]
Turangi tip calls for help
Thursday 7 July 2011 | Published in Local
Operators of the Turangi recycling centre are pleading for government help to stop people dumping waste on their property, and to help remove the rubbish.Story and photos, page 12. 11070615
Tax a disincentive
Thursday 7 July 2011 | Published in Local
A 15 percent withholding tax on all interest earned in Cook Islands bank accounts is a disincentive for investors and those trying to save money, Cook Islands News is told. Matavera resident, pensioner and Westpac investor Les Priest says news of the withholding tax, set to be implemented in September once approved by parliament, spoiled […]
Its desperate
Thursday 7 July 2011 | Published in Local
Former Inland Revenue collector Geoff Stoddart has slammed government plans to introduce a tax on interest, saying the idea is a desperate move that will only hurt disadvantaged people. Stoddart said the proposed 15 per cent tax on interest earned from savings and investments in Cook Islands bank accounts would more than likely cost the […]
Opposition not happy with new tax
Thursday 7 July 2011 | Published in Local
Opposition Democratic Party members are not happy with the governments withholding tax which will take 15 percent of all interest earned from Cook Islands bank accounts. Deputy opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen says party members met yesterday to discuss the tax. In general we are not happy with it. The most obvious reasons are it is […]
College rumour malicious
Wednesday 6 July 2011 | Published in Local
A suggestion that Titikaveka College will be shut down and turned into a trade school has stumped education minister Teina Bishop. The rumour made it into a parliament session yesterday when deputy opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen posed it as a question to Bishop. A letter was written to the principal of Titikaveka College indicating there […]
McCully brings 80 on promotional tour
Wednesday 6 July 2011 | Published in Local
NZ Foreign Minister Murray McCully is reportedly bringing a delegation of 80 people to Rarotonga next week. McCullys office refuses to elaborate on the details of the visit. His media contact Stephen Parker says he is standing by as the information passes through the system and will issue a press release thereafter. Despite the bureaucratic […]
New 15% tax on interest
Wednesday 6 July 2011 | Published in Local
A new tax is proposed on interest earned from investments and savings in all Cook Islands bank accounts. From September 1 it is highly likely the interest earned in all bank accounts will be taxed at 15 percent, in an effort to generate further revenue for the government. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Management […]
Te Maeva Nui transport on the way
Wednesday 6 July 2011 | Published in Local
At a cost of $400,000 this Samoan ferry named MV Lady Naomi will transport pa enua residents to and from Rarotonga for Te Maeva Nui celebrations at the end of this month.Story, page 7. 11070528
First direct Sydney flight arrives
Tuesday 5 July 2011 | Published in Local
Singers, dancers and a water cannon have been included in plans to welcome the first planeload of Sydney passengers to have flown directly to Rarotonga this year. Air New Zealand flight NZ60 was due to touch down at Rarotonga International Airport at 7am today, marking the first direct flight from Australia to the Cook Islands […]
MPs reminded of tradition in parliament
Tuesday 5 July 2011 | Published in Local
Members of the Cook Islands Parliament are enjoying discourse about whether the $20,000 ceremonial opening of parliament last week was a worthwhile expense. Debate over the ceremony has been heating up, particularly between speaker of the house Sir Geoffrey Henry who supports the ceremony and all its trappings, and deputy opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen who […]
More money for pearl authority
Tuesday 5 July 2011 | Published in Local
The Cook Islands Pearl Authority (CIPA) has received a financial shot in the arms as it plans to rejuvenate the once-mighty pearl industry. The new 2011/2012 budget appropriates $502,387 to CIPA, allowing for greater operating costs than the previous year. Another $3 million is being allocated to CIPA through an NZAid programme, the details of […]
Man dies
Monday 4 July 2011 | Published in Local
A motorbike accident on the Nikao back road early on Saturday morning claimed the life of 36-year-old Boye Nicholas and left a second man from Nikao seriously injured. The accident occurred in Atupa near the Tiare village about 100 metres from the scene of a fatal accident that killed two young Pukapuka men in May. […]
Underpaid justice staff due for increase
Monday 4 July 2011 | Published in Local
With a total net appropriation of $1.7 million, the Ministry of Justice receives some extra attention from government this financial year. In his budget speech on Friday, finance minister Mark Brown said the government has committed 17 per cent of its resources towards the governance and law and order sector. A key component of this […]
$20m to boost economy
Monday 4 July 2011 | Published in Local
More than $20 million is to be spent in the next year on economic growth, half of which has been directly allocated towards tourism. Within the governments 2011-2012 budget, which was tabled on Friday, 12 percent of its resources ($20.5 million) is earmarked for what finance minister Mark Brown describes as the economic sector. A […]
Pay as you go budget tabled
Saturday 2 July 2011 | Published in Local
A balanced Budget was tabled in parliament yesterday with total revenue and total expenditure both estimated at $106.1 million. Finance minister Mark Brown presented the 2011-12 Appropriation Bill and Estimates at a short session in the House after the ceremonial opening at the National Auditorium. Debate on the budget detail will begin on Monday when […]
Lavish ceremony
Saturday 2 July 2011 | Published in Local
A two-hour, $20,000 ceremony yesterday marked the official opening of the forty-seventh session of the Cook Islands Parliament. Queens Representative Sir Frederick Goodwin, Lady Goodwin, lady-in-waiting Tangi Goodwin, aide-de-camp inspector Arama Tera, official secretary Harry Ivaiti and official messenger senior sergeant Kau Mapu arrived first, each greeted with a maire ei and a turou. After […]
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