Steve 76
The tax deal in NZ is quite simple -they want your money no matter where you earn it. As a NZ citizen you are liable to pay tax on all earnings either from a local source or from an overseas one. When touring back to NZ and bringing in your overseas income if there is a reciprocal tax agreement between the NZ goverment and the country where your earned that money then the tax paid at source will be deducted off what you need to pay in NZ, However you then get into provisional tax payments , meaning you pay next years tax this year and make adjustments later.
As for working in an tax free enviroment eg Middle East and touring back to NZ you pay the appropiate amount back in NZ so it is only tax free in the country of source. You can get non resident tax status in NZ it involves selling any home you have used as a residence , your car , having no medical insurance policy etc etc and being out of NZ 245 days in the first year thereafter you can come and go as you please. You could look at putting it all into a trust but IRD are onto this as a tax dodge , so you would need to see a good accountant. Best live in NZ have your bank accounts overseas do your tours and use your overseas credit card to live off when in NZ. And declare what you bring home in your pocket.