A well-known researcher who often criticised New Zealand’s outdated charity and tax laws has died.
Michael Gousmett, with his decades of experience in the charity sector, was the expert voice most regularly heard when organisations were accused of gaming the system.
He spoke often about the country’s outdated regulations – a topic he became an author and presenter on both nationally and overseas. He was a regular letter writer to The Press and visited its newsroom to speak to journalists and share his expertise.
Gousmett died peacefully on Sunday, May 18, aged 73, a death notice published in The Press said on Wednesday. He was surrounded by his family at Nurse Maude Hospital where he had been receiving palliative care.
“Michael will be sadly missed by his extended family, many friends and colleagues,” the notice said. He had been battling cancer and had previously survived prostate cancer after having surgery.
After 18 years working as general manager for the Pacific Leprosy Foundation until 2007, Gousmett earned a doctorate from the University of Canterbury after completing a thesis on the history of charities being exempt from paying income tax.
He embarked on a newfound career as a self-funded independent researcher in the charity sector in 2012.
Gousmett became an adjunct fellow of the university’s school of humanities and creative arts for history in 2015 – an honorary role equivalent to that of an unpaid lecturer.
“Being a critic of the charity sector does indeed make for an interesting life, as my opinion is often sought by members of the public as well as businesses and the media,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.
“Every moment is to be lived, because it can change in an instant. Having a loving and supportive partner is so important as well, and in that I am most fortunate.”
His daughter Sharyn Gousmett posted from his LinkedIn page on Wednesday to announce his death.
“Such sad news indeed,” former Christchurch major Lianne Dalziel commented. “I met Michael many years ago. Courage and tenacity are two words that come to mind.”
Others spoke of a good and honest man, a great researcher, colleague and friend.
Gousmett was a contributor to the New Zealand Law Journal, the New Zealand Journal of Taxation Law and Policy and a co-author of The Law and Practice of Charities in New Zealand.