tax

Categories under tax

No One’s Fault But Ours

Written By: - Date published: 5:45 pm, September 9th, 2014 - 66 comments

Nothing so clearly demonstrates John Key’s contempt for the New Zealand voter as his confidence that we will believe whatever he tells us. He has had ample experience to back up that confidence. The course taken by the dirty politics saga is perhaps the most obvious case in point. If the polls are to be […]

Polity: Key waves hands, insipidly

Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, September 9th, 2014 - 34 comments

Nationals hypothetical tax cut package has not gone down well. People do not appear to like the fact that it is small, hypothetical, and irresponsible, all at once.This is what you get when you have a prime minister so weakly desperate for public approval that they make up policy by accident and then push that poor decision through their cabinet and caucus.

Nats useless on economy

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, September 9th, 2014 - 49 comments

The economy is a mess, the Nats have no ideas, and their current policies (e.g. hypothetical tax cuts) are getting laughed out of town. National is useless on the economy, and the sooner we the people wake up to this fact, the better off we will be.

Tax cuts – simple question simple answer

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 pm, September 7th, 2014 - 84 comments

Duncan Garner asks – “when we’ve just borrowed $55b over 6 years how on earth are tax cuts suddenly affordable?”. Presumably it’s a rhetorical question…

Thoughts from the crowd on Tuesday night’s debate

Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, September 4th, 2014 - 51 comments

I was in the front row of the audience at the Press leader’s debate between David Cunliffe and John Key. While the media in Auckland and Wellington might have called it one way, the people in Christchurch were only presented with one leader who understands the issues in this city, and it wasn’t the Prime Minister.

Look over there! Tax cuts!

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, August 26th, 2014 - 7 comments

So National are both so out of ideas and so desperate to take the spotlight off their Dirty Politics that they’re now promising tax cuts. Tax cuts straight after we have a panel of our most prominent economists warning that the ‘rock star’ economy is going to hit the rocks.

Tax cut cynicism

Written By: - Date published: 6:20 pm, August 25th, 2014 - 52 comments

According to the PM, Bill English saying there won’t be tax cuts was both true and untrue at the same time, like a fiscal Schroedinger’s Cat.

Parker nails English on economic policy

Written By: - Date published: 2:25 pm, August 25th, 2014 - 32 comments

Labour has the bold set of policies to take New Zealand forward into the 21st century – National’s “same old same old” tinkering will see the Kiwi skiff swamped. That was the clear conclusion from the debate between David Parker and Bill English on National Radio this morning.

Slater’s privacy conundrum

Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, August 25th, 2014 - 31 comments

For me the funniest thing that happened last week was Cameron Slater proudly announcing that he’d put in a privacy complaint about the someone hacking his data. Three days later he finds out that he was the target of a privacy act prosecution for similar acts.

NRT: Why foreigners are buying up New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, August 22nd, 2014 - 5 comments

“Why would an overseas buyer pay more for an asset than a New Zealander? … But Chalkie reckons one reason stands out – tax. There are huge tax advantages available to overseas investors that simply cannot be accessed by locals.”

Polity: Company tax cut-and-slash-and-burn!

Written By: - Date published: 4:38 pm, August 4th, 2014 - 24 comments

To say that ACT’s new company tax policy is complete and utter drivelling crap would be a bit of an understatement.

NRT: National’s roads are pure pork

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 pm, July 29th, 2014 - 13 comments

The extent that the National minister have been pork-barreling the roading budget for their electorates is crazy. The OIA’s show that most of the $212 million announced by John Key at the National party conference is pure pork for ministers. They are assessed as costing more money to build than they will ever produce in benefits, even using NZTA’s infamously overoptimistic assessments. National MPs and Ministers want to be seen as delivering something for their electorates before the election. So much for assessing needs based on merits. They must be really worried about this election to misuse so much pork.

Polity: Taxing multinationals via sales

Written By: - Date published: 11:35 am, July 22nd, 2014 - 30 comments

An interesting idea out of the US for how to fairly tax multinationals around the world. Declare a worldwide profit,  find out where they made their sales, an apportion the profit to various jurisdictions.

Polity: Poor pay more tax than rich in UK

Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, July 19th, 2014 - 134 comments

The British public estimates the poor pay around 24% of their income in tax, while the rich pay around 35%. The truth is very different. Once you add up all taxes, the poorest actually pay around 43% of their income in tax, compared to only 35% for the rich. We have the same perceptual issues in NZ especially if you listen to the whining of Kiwiblog. Here the poorest pay the same tax rate as the rich, and the middle classes have the lower tax rate.

Russel Norman: ‘smart, green’, innovation economy

Written By: - Date published: 1:47 pm, July 16th, 2014 - 34 comments

Russel Norman has announced a business-friendly policy for a “smart, green” focus on innovation.  A move towards a “Green New Deal”, working with the current system, and away from neoliberalism.  It won’t dismantle capitalism, but exists within a framework for a fairer NZ.

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. 

The real aims of National’s “Education” policy.

Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, July 8th, 2014 - 149 comments

If the aims of National/ACT’s education policy were, genuinely, to to improve the learning, education and career choices for our children, including the ones that are failing at present, they would not be following policies which have signally failed to achieve any of these goals, anywhere else they have been tried.

NRT: Who’d have thunk it?

Written By: - Date published: 2:23 pm, June 27th, 2014 - 60 comments

Capital gains tax is now accepted by a more people than who oppose it. But for a policy long considered a “third rail” of New Zealand politics, its a significant shift.  It ought to put paid forever to the idea that parties must go with the flow of public opinion because they are unable to affect it. Weak parties are. But if Labour stops being scared of its own shadow and afraid of its left-wing heritage, it can actually change things, and build the majorities it needs to govern.

Polity: Labour’s fiscal plan: B+

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, June 25th, 2014 - 20 comments

I’m a glass half-full kind of a guy, so I want to start by emphasising the parts of  Labour’s just-released fiscal plan that I like. The good: commitment to paying off government debt during economic good times, tax rate changes are welcome, and targeting tax avoidance by large multinationals. Bad: the top tax rate is still too low, and no need to signal second term tax cuts. Overall I would give this package a B+.

Polity: Inequality trends

Written By: - Date published: 9:16 pm, May 27th, 2014 - 7 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity has a series of posts in recent days that have been well worth reposting but alas they missed due to travel. Who gained from National’s tax switch? and May TV polls. But he is on fire since he got back from aussie – perhaps they spiked his drinks? But this one looking at the probable shifts in inequality in NZ in the future is pretty damn sobering to anyone who thinks that we need a more equal society.

NRT: The rich rort us again

Written By: - Date published: 1:50 pm, May 23rd, 2014 - 28 comments

No Right Turn on paying private schools and childcare as being charitable ‘donations’ and thereby trying to defraud taxpayers.

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.

LB: Bill’s Busted Budget and Tim’s Exploding Emissions

Written By: - Date published: 4:28 pm, April 9th, 2014 - 13 comments

Local bodies points out a couple more of the National government’s sad-sacks. For some strange (but obvious) reason a warmish market for milk powder doesn’t do much for NZ apart from destroying our environment. English’s taxcuts for his wealthy mates have destroyed the fiscal base of the government and done nothing to cause any investment in the productive and employable parts of our economy. Tim Groser has also made an artform of making NZ worse off.

Gini: A Measure of Inequality

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, February 25th, 2014 - 14 comments

In my previous post on how a UBI would address inequality,  it turns out I figured out something that is already known as a measure of inequality called the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve. A lower Gini coefficient is better and represents a more equal society. It is a recognised way of measuring and comparing inequality between countries, changes in equality overtime and for the effects of taxation proposals.  Looking at it for NZ shows the effects of the last 30 years of neoliberal “reform”.

Polity: Fizzy drinks: Tax or no tax?

Written By: - Date published: 2:48 pm, February 18th, 2014 - 80 comments

There has been some discussion recently about whether we should tax fizzy drinks as a threat to public health. Otago University public health people say yes. Various anti-tax groups say no. Here’s Rob Salmond’s 2c worth.

Some interesting arguments

Damien Grant thinks tax fraudsters are more worthy than beneficiary fraudsters

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, February 9th, 2014 - 238 comments

Damien Grant has argued in the latest Herald that those convicted of tax evasion should be treated more leniently than those convicted of beneficiary fraud even though an average tax fraud case resulting in jail may involve eleven times as much money.  Obviously wealthy people are somehow better …

UBI (3). Taxes, income and Welfare

Written By: - Date published: 12:46 pm, January 25th, 2014 - 68 comments

However, a UBI is a change in distribution of incomes, not an increase in the size of Government.

Progressive taxation  is the price of living in a well resourced, pleasant, and cohesive society.

UBI: Addressing Inequality

Written By: - Date published: 2:15 pm, January 22nd, 2014 - 35 comments

Income equality is one measure that can be used to indicate the equality of a society. Flip has analysed the 2011 income distribution and show how a UBI (Universal Basic Income) can create greater income equality.

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.

How to: Pick an Excuse for Not doing Anything About Poverty

Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, December 12th, 2013 - 97 comments

Right wing, excuses reasons, for not doing anything about children in poverty.

A more equitable society

Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, December 11th, 2013 - 53 comments

Welfare benefits and how you provide for the disadvantaged is one of the primary distinguishing features of the difference between the left and right of the political spectrum. Here is a proposal on how to make sure that the wealth of society is better distributed. It would require consensus from most people to implement as it would fundamentally change the fabric of society.