Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, April 5th, 2018 - 56 comments
Can we please now save David Seymour from his violent oppression and relieve him of his tax-funded salary?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 3rd, 2018 - 51 comments
April the first and second mark the days when those receiving entitlements receive a yearly increase in line with the CPI and the governments increase to Accommodation Supplement also comes into effect. So what does it all mean for those receiving entitlements?
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, March 14th, 2018 - 32 comments
A more productive economy – and society – has been an elusive goal for many of New Zealand’s previous governments. The last National Government failed. What will Labour do to succeed?
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, March 8th, 2018 - 128 comments
Amy Adams won’t commit to $11.7b, but she too has now become the third person to fall down the imaginary fiscal hole. How can National claim to have any soundness on finance if they won’t admit their criticisms on the economy are unreasonable and unfounded? And besides, aren’t National actually worse fiscal managers if ordinary people tend to get paid less under their regimes? We dive into some theory to thoroughly dispute even Steven Joyce’s/Amy Adam’s secondary criticism of “fiscal tightness,” although concede that two of the Budget Responsibility rules are probably stupid in order to do it.
Written By: - Date published: 1:20 pm, March 7th, 2018 - 32 comments
Don’t hold your breath for recommendations of radical tax reform from the Tax Working Group. Chair Sir Michael Cullen says the 2020 election will be a referendum on tax and he is already kicking for touch
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 pm, February 20th, 2018 - 11 comments
The Lord Mayor of the City of London is visiting New Zealand. Its not Sadiq Khan, Charles Bowman is a PwC partner leading London’s financial centre lobby. He’s here to talk to business and regulators. He’ll no doubt be talking up more deregulation.
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, January 13th, 2018 - 52 comments
It has been a decade now since Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide proposed amalgamating all of Auckland’s city councils into one enormous entity by dumping much of the Royal Commission’s proposals. Well it’s time to hold its results to account.
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, January 6th, 2018 - 204 comments
Is Bitcoin something to worry about or something to embrace?
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, December 31st, 2017 - 20 comments
In Australia the Murdoch press has chosen the Christmas down period to try and whip up some anti beneficiary hysteria. Jim Parker from the blog Failed Estate calmly dissects the figures and concludes there is no reason for concern.
Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, December 21st, 2017 - 40 comments
A month ago Labour announced that Sir Michael Cullen would chair the tax working group and the National Party was cock-a-hoop! Steven Joyce said: “Sir Michael is many things but a politically independent voice on taxation policy he is not,” Judith Collins had fun with it too, in her regular spot on Newshub she dubbed […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, November 28th, 2017 - 48 comments
Why National is currently winning the debate about tax and what Labour needs to do to change this.
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, November 7th, 2017 - 19 comments
The Paradise Papers have provided further evidence of a small group of very wealthy people are using complex trust arrangements based in tax havens to avoid paying tax.
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, October 14th, 2017 - 104 comments
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it now favours higher taxes on the rich and has demolished the myth this might adversely affect economic growth. The authoritative Washington-based think tank in its influential half-yearly monitor also argued for taxes on capital, suggesting a wealth and/or land taxes should be considered, something that will make Gareth […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, October 10th, 2017 - 35 comments
Newsroom (Shane Cowlishaw) reports that the Nats were considering significant hikes to fuel taxes, described in a document that was supposed to be released before the election – but somehow wasn’t.
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, September 29th, 2017 - 49 comments
National’s one and only strategy this election was lying about Labour, specifically Labour’s budget and their tax policy. The $11.7bn hole lie just made the Nats look stupid, but the evidence suggests that the tax lie did real damage. Why are we so angry about tax and so apathetic about the much more important issue of low pay?
Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, September 25th, 2017 - 178 comments
Labour didn’t deserve to win on Saturday because, firstly, because it failed to bring a fully-fleshed tax policy to voters, and, secondly, it never attempted to win the ideological battle over tax. To succeed at the next election, Labour must begin work today to frame this debate.
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, September 14th, 2017 - 282 comments
Tax is emerging as the big issue of this campaign. How valid are National’s claims that Labour will introduce a variety of new taxes and what has National’s record been like? Update: in a smart tactical move Labour has promised no new taxes will be introduced until after the next election.
Written By: - Date published: 1:38 pm, September 4th, 2017 - 109 comments
Matthew Whitehead looks at what the Greens, Labour and National really mean when they talk about a CGT.
Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, September 4th, 2017 - 14 comments
A dose of reality on National and taxes, and wise words on the media circus surrounding tax.
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, August 23rd, 2017 - 146 comments
Jacinda Ardern will not campaign on a capital gains tax, but will seek advice and will not rule it out in a first term. The Nats have introduced a week form of CGT already. A more robust version needs serious consideration.
Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, August 22nd, 2017 - 71 comments
The Green Party in government will end the tax advantages property speculators currently enjoy under National by implementing a comprehensive tax on capital gains
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, August 5th, 2017 - 10 comments
Toby Morris explores the differences in how tax fraud and benefit fraud are dealt with, and asks where our sympathies should be.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, July 23rd, 2017 - 14 comments
Collins’ excuse is just waffle. Why won’t the Nats follow Australia and UK in a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance?
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, July 21st, 2017 - 54 comments
Auckland City Councilor Richard Hills yesterday tweeted some of the things we would like to see fixed before a tax cut. You might want to add to the list. Good thing Labour is promising to cancel the cuts and spend billions more on health and education.
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, July 20th, 2017 - 27 comments
According to Morning Report the Nats are calling Labour’s budget for more spending on health and education “a plan to waste more money”. Tell it to the people who can’t afford private alternatives and depend on the public systems.
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, July 6th, 2017 - 22 comments
National’s original claims that New Zealand was not a tax haven are in tatters as the Sherwan rule changes have resulted in the mass exodus of Foreign Trusts from New Zealand.
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, June 20th, 2017 - 23 comments
Our economic paradigm (market capitalism) and oil don’t mix. False hope (BECCS) and survival doesn’t mix. Current political settings (Paris pledges produce 3- 4 degrees C warming with the US on board) and intelligent action don’t mix. Incrementalism (time is not on our side) and AGW doesn’t mix. Whatever can’t be mixed into some AGW solution needs to be flushed.
Scary, huh? Well, yes and no…
Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, May 28th, 2017 - 138 comments
The Green Party caucus decision to support the Government’s tax reduction legislation is hard to comprehend and has created a perception of messiness in the way the Labour-Green MOU operates.
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, May 25th, 2017 - 23 comments
A useful piece from Keith Ng on myths about tax. It’s an extract from The PSA’s “Progressive Thinking: Ten Perspectives on Tax” booklet.
Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, May 3rd, 2017 - 127 comments
In America a group of millionaires have emerged who are advocating for increased taxation for the wealthy and increased democratic rights to everyone else.
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, April 19th, 2017 - 45 comments
National is trying to give the impression that it settled the pay equity case out of the goodness of its heart. The reality is that the Unions forced it to settle through gritted teeth.
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