Wealthy charity donor driven away

Can't afford not to blog this news. So typical
of NZ government's close mindedness...

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New Zealand's richest woman quit the country after the Government refused to relax tax rules to help her give away a big part of her fortune to charity.

Reclusive Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron has moved to Tasmania after spending more than 30 years in Christchurch, where she built a $275 million business fortune.

Starting with a small shop in Linwood, Cameron turned her outdoor-clothing and equipment venture into one of the country's best-known brands, with outlets in New Zealand, Australia and Britain.

The Press understands Cameron had looked at staying in New Zealand after selling Kathmandu last year and planned to donate a portion of her annual income from her investments to charities.

But under the New Zealand tax regime, all the money she gave away over an $1800 threshold would be taxed, so she opted to move to Australia, where there is no limit.

The main losers from her decision are New Zealand charities, which have missed out on potentially millions of dollars in donations.

Cameron had approached the Government to raise her concerns, but was knocked back.

Despite this, she gave $2.5m to the newly formed Hillary Institute to fund an international leadership award.

Cameron told The Press she thought more wealthy New Zealanders would give more away to charity if the tax rules were more helpful.

"Without getting too political, the tax law on donations could be improved upon," Cameron said.

A spokesman for Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said he could not comment on individuals' tax affairs.

PricewaterhouseCoopers tax specialist John Shewan said he was not surprised by Cameron's decision.

"It does underline how careful we need to be if we want to retain high-net-worth individuals," he said.

"We need to have a tax-friendly environment. Sadly, we don't have that at the moment."

Shewan said Cameron would pay no tax on her overseas investments under new Australian tax rules.

"Australia has stolen a march on us in terms of attracting high-net-worth individuals," he said.

Philanthropy New Zealand, which represents some of the country's biggest donors, has been pushing for tax reform.

Executive director Robyn Scott said Cameron's loss was a shame for New Zealand.

"The tax laws in New Zealand are not as favourable for giving large amounts of money as they are in some parts of the world," she said.

"There should be no limit on charitable donations."

Philanthropy New Zealand has contributed to a review of the tax rules and Scott said she understood reform was likely.

Cameron said she had been thinking about philanthropy in general for about five years.

"It's only recently I've been able to do it financially," she said.

"I've got a few projects going in Tasmania with animal welfare and I'm working with the RSPCA."

She said the need for help was "bottomless".

"You can only give so much money yourself. I'm in a privileged position to do so."

Cameron still has a house in Christchurch.

However, she said Christchurch was associated with a lot of work for her and moving to Tasmania had provided an enjoyable "sea change".