Trade in Services Statistics Developments in New Zealand

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Trade in Services StatisticsDevelopments in New
Zealand

• Shirley Nesbit
• Statistics New Zealand
• for OECD-EUROSTAT MEETING OF EXPERTS IN
  TRADE-IN-SERVICES STATISTICS (TIS)
• April 2004

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Overview

• Background
• Increasing importance of trade in services
• Other Services project
• Current methodology
• Project overview
• Feasibility study
• Population study
• Other trade in services developments
• Travel debits
• BoP quality plan
• Questions/feedback

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Trade in services - increasing importance
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Current methodology - other services

• Periodic benchmark census of other services
  transactors - 1989, 1992, 1999, 2005
• Quarterly Survey of International Trade in
  Services and Royalties
• non-sampled estimate
• Population maintenance
• Business frame update survey - selected
  enterprises - in past 12 months,
  revenue/expenditure over 20,000 from overseas
  located enterprise(s) or individual(s), for
  services?
• Enterprises identified through media reports,
  etc
• gt Annual update survey('births' survey)

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Objectives of Other Services project

• Update census benchmark, undercoverage estimate.
• Research issues.
• Better meet needs of policy agencies.
• Improve compliance with eg trade in services
  manual.
• Update quarterly sample.
• Investigate alternative means of collecting data
  that may reduce respondent burden, e.g. the use
  of administrative tax data.

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Feasibility study

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) -
  need for W120 by modes of supply by country as
  per Trade in Services manual.
• Concept testing (March-April 2004)
• interview to probe respondents' record keeping
  systems - what data is available, how easy to
  supply in the forms specified in the Manual.
• relatively easy to identify revenue (service
  exports) by country and type of service
• some use zero rated GST returns to identify
  exports
• less easy to categorise expenditure (service
  imports)
• larger existing respondents compile data
  specifically for Statistics NZ.
• W120 feasibility depended on what data stored in
  systems, load varies widely
• much more difficult to identify value by modes of
  supply
• Cognitive testing (May-June 2004)
• test updated collection instrument

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Population study

• Update population use of (administrative) GST
  zero rated sales and other sources to identify
  possible ex/importers of services.
• Examine relationship between zero rated GST
  returns and exports of services in the services
  survey.
• Potential use of zero rated GST to
• update the quarterly survey population
• replace/extend surveyed data in quarterly survey

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Zero rated GST supplies

• Zero-rated supplies are certain taxable supplies
  that are taxed at the rate of 0 rather than at
  the standard rate.These include
• the sale of a "going concern
• exported goods
• duty-free goods
• goods not in New Zealand at the time of supply
• temporary imports
• transport of passengers and goods to and from New
  Zealand
• certain exported services
• the first sale by a refiner of pure gold, silver,
  or platinum to a dealer in fine metal for
  investment purposes

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Other developments - travel debits

• Updating benchmark estimate to reflect current
  expenditure patterns NZ travellers
• Survey of Returned Travellers September 2002
  -June 2004 quarter
• Expenditure by purpose (business, personal) by
  method of payment (credit card, other card,
  travellers cheque, cash, other) by country
• Results for first year to be published soon
• Quarterly estimation methodology using current
  expenditure information, including
• Survey of Debit Transactions Overseas purchases
  and cash withdrawals by New Zealand residents,
  using New Zealand bank accounts
• Survey of outward bound tour operators
  expenditure on prepaid overseas travel services
  by New Zealand residents from the survey of
  outward bound tour operators.
• Updated travel debits series with March 2005
  quarter BoP.

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Other developments - BoP quality plan

• Discussion document to be released in May 2004 on
  www.stats.govt.nz
• Prioritising BoP quality issues, unmet needs.
• Outcome agreed BoP development plan.

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Questions/feedback

• Comments?
• Questions?
• Advice?