Inflation remains to be the consistent driver of exchange rates this month along with a few new factors.

Over my fifteen years of cost of living surveys, I’ve traveled by taxi, subway, commuter rail, and ferry to collect data. Once, while pricing a supermarket in China, I noticed bicycles were under 140 CYN (20 USD). Tired of crawling through traffic in taxis, I bought a bike and completed the survey riding around the city. I really enjoyed the freedom a biking survey provided but assumed it was an isolated event.

There has been a small increase in the maximum contribution to the Accident Compensation Levy. The net effect is a small increase in tax for higher incomes. To simplify and modernize New Zealand’s tax administration, effective April 1, 2019, employers are required to file “employee income information” every pay cycle.