Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

AA 1: Purpose of Act
or “This Act explains how income is taxed and outlines your tax responsibilities”

You could also call this:

“How to read and understand the Income Tax Act 2007”

This part of the law explains how to understand and use the Income Tax Act 2007.

When you’re reading the Act, you might see diagrams, examples, flowcharts, notes, and lists of defined terms. These are there to help you understand the law better. But if these helpers say something different from what the actual law says, you should follow what the law says.

Sometimes, the Act uses special terms that have specific meanings. Even if these terms aren’t explained at the end of a section, they still have their special meaning when used in that section.

Remember, the actual words of the law are the most important. The extra bits are just there to help you understand, but they can’t change what the law actually says.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

Next up: AA 3: Definitions

or “This section explains important terms and how to interpret the law”

Home
Income Tax Act 2007
Purpose and interpretation
AA 2: Interpretation

Part A Purpose and interpretation

AA 2Interpretation

Diagrams, examples, flowcharts, readers’ notes, and the lists of defined terms following sections are included in this Act only as interpretational aids. If there is conflict between an interpretational aid and a provision of this Act, the provision prevails.
If a defined term is used in a section and is not included in the list of defined terms following the section, the term is nevertheless used in the section as defined.

Compare