$100,000 salary reporting rule too low: New Zealand Shareholders’ Association says company disclosure rules outdated
The New Zealand Shareholders’ Association is calling for an increase in the salary disclosure threshold for listed companies from $100,000 to $200,000. They argue that the current threshold, set decades ago, no longer accurately reflects executive remuneration due to inflation and wage growth.
Why it matters
Updating disclosure rules provides more accurate transparency regarding executive pay versus average worker earnings, preventing misleading perceptions of corporate pay structures.
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A legal requirement for certain companies to report how many staff earn more than $100,000 is out of date and should be increased to $200,000, the New Zealand Shareholders’ Association says.
TVNZ revealed last week in its latest results that 343 of its 538 staff earn more than $100,000 per year – nearly two-thirds of its staff.
Under the Companies Act, many organisations and firms listed on the New Zealand Exchange must state in annual reports how many employees earn over $100,000 and the number earning more than that in pay bands of $10,000.
Back then, $100,000 was executive remuneration. It was an indicator of how top-heavy an organisation was getting.
But according to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s inflation calculator for wages, $100,000 in July 1994 dollars is equivalent to earning $297,000 today.
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