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Tax or quality public services – which is more important to NZ voters?

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 pm, September 27th, 2023 - 16 comments

Earlier this year Andrew Marr wrote in the New Statesmen, that Britain’s problem was that it wanted Scandinavian levels of Public Services and North American levels of taxation. His view was that Britain was overdue for an honest debate about tax and public spending. In New Zealand, there is a similar challenge.

Labour’s GST and WFF policy announcement

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, August 13th, 2023 - 168 comments

As predicted Labour has announced a policy of taking GST off fresh fruit and vegetables and a significant adjustment to Working for Families In House Tax Credit levels and the Thresholds.

Should Labour take GST off fresh food?

Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, July 28th, 2023 - 87 comments

National’s Nicola Willis has claimed that Labour will soon announce policy to take GST off fresh fruit and vegetables.

National and its no tax promises

Written By: - Date published: 1:51 pm, November 27th, 2018 - 38 comments

National have got out the old “no new taxes” songbook and are singing it as loudly as they can.

Tax Working Group report depressing reading

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 pm, September 21st, 2018 - 66 comments

The Tax Working Group says the gaping holes in our tax system make it unfair and undermine its integrity, but the prospect of the electorate embracing even its limited recommendations on taxing capital gains make for depressing contemplation.

Cullen says 2020 election effectively a referendum on tax

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

IMF: higher taxes for rich will cut inequality and won’t hurt growth

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 […]

Labour won’t regain power until it wins the tax debate

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.

Lets talk about tax policy

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, September 14th, 2017 - 283 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.

Bill English unaware that GST is a tax shock!

Written By: - Date published: 11:25 am, June 26th, 2016 - 69 comments

Is it true that 40 percent of us pay no tax? Why, no, no it isn’t.

PM can’t calculate GST

Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, March 18th, 2015 - 66 comments

Gotcha politics is all good sport when the opposition makes a mistake. How about Key’s self-inflicted blunder?

Polity: Crampton on online GST

Written By: - Date published: 2:49 pm, January 27th, 2015 - 33 comments

Rob Salmond has a bite at Eric Campton’s rather ideologically naive ideas about balancing up the GST playing ground between local and overseas retailers. Rather than not doing anything about it as Eric suggests and leaving local retailers flailing. Why not just make it simple as local collection of GST?

Fudge-it-Budget

Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, December 11th, 2014 - 31 comments

The lied about surplus in the run up to the 2014 National Election is looking like matching Penn and Teller for magical skills. It’s the ultimate disappearing act. Unlike bad economic figures when Labour is in Government, this isn’t National’s fault. Bill English says so. It’s all down to a whole lot of unusual and […]

Polity: MSD dumps on National’s “net tax” nonsense

Written By: - Date published: 3:33 pm, July 10th, 2014 - 47 comments

Rob Salmond has been looking through the newly released  Ministry of Social Development’s Household Incomes Report. It really is invaluable. 

Polity: Key: Pathological liar about tax

Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, May 18th, 2014 - 30 comments

John Key is clearly lying about tax again. He claims that most of “all nett tax” is paid for by the wealthy. As usual he ignores the 15% GST tax, the various sales taxes on things like petrol, and the many other sales and consumption taxes. GST and other consumption taxes are largely paid for by the not wealthy. Which is why they were raised to pay for National’s tax cuts for the wealthy.

Polity: English lies on impact of tax switch

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, January 15th, 2014 - 15 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity has been having a look at Bill English’s “neutral” tax change in 2010…

Bill English recently heralded his tax switch as making net tax more progressive. He lied. It actually made net tax at least $500 million more regressive.

Beyond the MSM? You Bet!

Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, September 20th, 2013 - 221 comments

David Cunliffe spoke to the Left base in the Daily Blog Live interview last night: economy, tax, employment, GCSB, TPPA & more.  He raises hopes for a new, post GFC social democratic vision. But he spoke to those with economic & policy knowledge. His nods towards better social security, away from bennie bashing, need fleshing out.

It’s not us: it’s the big banks

Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, April 29th, 2013 - 31 comments

MSM articles show the big Aussie banks are making record profits, Kiwis can save, and Adam Smith worshiping think tanks are not to be trusted. Cunliffe & Norman said it a while back – NAct policies and government spending cuts are not the answer.

Stealth Taxers

Written By: - Date published: 10:09 am, April 19th, 2013 - 16 comments

National, far from being their idealised “low tax party” are in fact the “stealth tax party”. While they’ve lowered the top rate of tax and the company rate, helping out the wealthiest, there has been regressive tax after regressive tax increase on the smaller hidden things.

When ‘fiscally neutral’ costs a billion+ a year

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, April 5th, 2012 - 30 comments

On Monday, Key said his tax cuts have been “literally fiscally neutral”. In Parliament yesterday, Russel Norman showed Treasury documents showing the 2010 tax changes were to forecast to cost $1.1b in 4 years, actually cost $1.1b in 9 months, and the cost has grown since. Key didn’t want to hear the Treasury numbers, instead waving some ‘billshit’ put together by the Finance Minister.

Penguin: Key lies to help us

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, November 8th, 2011 - 30 comments

Yes, that’s an actual quote [sans ‘serfs’] from David Farrar lying about his master John Key’s lies about not raising GST.

hattip: frank macskasy

 

 

Treasury fudge

Written By: - Date published: 5:28 pm, September 6th, 2011 - 19 comments

Treasury has now adopted their masters’ political line on income statistics. The latest Treasury MEI uses average after-tax wages to argue that an average worker is better off by 2% since October 2010. In real terms the average worker’s gross wage less inflation means they are 1% worse off. The average of $50,000 a year is a long way above the median wage as indicated by the 2009 IRD distribution figures. In reality a few are hugely better off, some are ok, and most are still worse off.

Reaction to Labour tax package

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, July 15th, 2011 - 179 comments

The media have provided us with five people examples of people who will be affected in different ways by Labour’s tax package. Ordinary families win big and they know it. The vested interests moan and reveal the pure greed that underlies their worldview. Frankly, I think Labour will win support due to both who supports and who opposes its tax policy.

Taxpayers

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, July 14th, 2011 - 35 comments

According to Gareth Morgan, “all income should be taxed if it is a fair income tax”. So where are taxes coming from right now? Well increasingly more of it is being paid by wage and salary earners, and less by businesses. Hopefully a capital gains tax will partially redress that imbalance.

Some are more equal than others

Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, May 16th, 2011 - 42 comments

As we wait to see just how bad the economy has got under National, and what cuts they will force on us to pay for their follies, Michael Bott’s reports on canvassing in Masterton: “I spent a weekend with a team of Labour volunteers listening to the concerns of the people. A repeated remark was, ‘‘ no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get ahead’’”

Economists line up on “Robin Hood” tax

Written By: - Date published: 9:16 pm, April 15th, 2011 - 31 comments

1000 economists have written to the G20, about to meet in Washington, and to Bill Gates, asking for a tax on financial transactions known as a Tobin tax after its originator, or a Robin Hood tax as it is known in the US. 4 New Zealanders are among the 1000; Prue Hyman, Stefan Kesting, Peter Conway, and Petrus Simons. Good on them.

Key out of touch on taxes

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, December 14th, 2010 - 37 comments

Do you feel better off after the great tax swindle?  Two recent surveys have shown that the significant majority of us do not.  John Key has expressed his surprise at our ingratitude.  But the numbers tell the story.  Most of us don’t feel better off because we aren’t better off.  The only surprise is that John Key is so completely out of touch as to fail to understand this.

GST is going up today

Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, October 1st, 2010 - 62 comments

Remember how John Key used to talk about GST? Here is a video reminding everyone of the past before he did his usual flip-flop to favour the rich while increasing costs on most people. The GST increase and the consequent inflation will make almost everyone worse off unless they are wealthy enough to bribe the NACT’s.

The tax cut fizzer

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, October 1st, 2010 - 79 comments

For a long, time National and the Right have tried to convince us that all we need is tax cuts. You can understand why: their other policies are deeply unpopular, cutting taxes is a roundabout way of cutting public services, which they hate, and tax cuts deliver the most to their wealthy base. So will we see any actual benefits from the great tax swindle?

Tax Swindle Graph

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, September 30th, 2010 - 30 comments

Danyl over at DimPost has produced an excellent graph of the gains from National’s Tax Swindle.  It uses the Government’s figures, it is generous in showing average rather than median incomes…

And it doesn’t look good for average kiwis.

No Right Turn on GST policy changes.

Written By: - Date published: 4:18 pm, September 27th, 2010 - 113 comments

No Right Turn has covered todays announcement about policy changes for GST on fruit and vegetables. Since it is pretty comprehensive we will reproduce the two posts here.