tax

Another Nat lie on GST

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:27 pm, February 28th, 2010 - 51 comments

You have to double-check every ‘fact’ the Nats tell you. Bill English, for example, has been caught out lying on Labour’s growth record.
For the last couple of weeks, John Key has been claiming that when Labour increased GST from 10% to 12.5% in 1989 there was no compensation for taxpayers. That too is a lie.

‘Atlases’ don’t deserve a tax cut

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:47 am, February 24th, 2010 - 67 comments

This man is Paul Reynolds, CEO of Telecom. He has overseen the largest corporate disaster in recent New Zealand history. The Nats are planning to give him over $6,600 a week in tax cuts. Apparently this screw up on a $7 million salary is the kind of guy New Zealand needs.

Tax and economic growth – Bill comes clean

Written By: John A - Date published: 1:37 pm, February 22nd, 2010 - 19 comments

Bill English’s argument that cutting taxes for the few at the top can cause an economic step change has always been nonsense.

His appearance on Q&A yesterday simply confirmed it.

Public: GST should pay for cuts to bottom rates

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:03 am, February 17th, 2010 - 16 comments

Key doesn’t have the money to keep his promise to make everyone better off or at least no worse off from tax reform. He doesn’t have pixies in the garden to make more money. But he can cut the bottom tax rates, and a new poll shows strong support for that move.

Key confirms: tax up for middle NZ, down for rich

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:30 am, February 15th, 2010 - 54 comments

Key has explicitly promised that no-one will be left worse off by these changes but he doesn’t have the money, can’t have to money, to do that if he persists in handing over buckets of money to the rich.

A fair tax

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:28 am, February 13th, 2010 - 38 comments

Click through for today’s Tom Scott cartoon.
He hits the nail on the head.
Putting up GST hits the poor the hardest.
For Kiwis who are barely scrapping by every cent counts.

Learning from example

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:00 am, February 12th, 2010 - 12 comments

In chronological order: John Key: “[I never promised I wouldn’t raise GST]. I said I would not raise GST to cover deficits, and we are not doing so.” Guyon Espiner: “he would have been better of just saying ‘look, times have changed and GST is now back on the agenda’” Duncan Garner: “The Prime Minister […]

Nats need to follow Labour’s lead on GST

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:43 pm, February 11th, 2010 - 9 comments

“Last GST hike had little impact, say tax experts” – Herald The article is about inflation but it is also true of growth. There is no evidence that increasing GST from 10% to 12.5% and cutting income taxes boosted growth. In fact, the country entered a long period of stagnation and recession. And why would […]

Trouble brewing for govt on GST

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:07 am, February 11th, 2010 - 3 comments

“An unscientific poll yesterday of 846 readers asking whether they would be happy to pay more GST if it meant they paid less income tax found 46.9 per cent in favour, 43.9 per cent opposed and about 8 per cent undecided.” – Stuff “Unscientific poll” I take to mean one of their online polls, and […]

Key’s magic money-pot

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 10:30 am, February 10th, 2010 - 25 comments

John Key has indicated that the Government will lift the GST rate to 15% and remove depreciation from investment houses. According to the Tax Working Group, that’ll raise $3.6 billion. That revenue will then be spent on compensation and tax cuts. First, he has promised compensation for the GST increase to beneficiaries, people on working […]

Commentators damning of Key’s visionless speech

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 5:46 pm, February 9th, 2010 - 97 comments

Bernard Hickey: He had a chance to follow up all the talk of real reform to create a ‘step change’. He had all the experts under the sun from inside and outside of government telling him he needed to do something. He commissioned reports. He talked a good game. Today he did nothing. He did […]

Tax Working Groupthink

Written By: John A - Date published: 11:25 am, February 5th, 2010 - 29 comments

The Tax Working Group’s summary presentation at their December seminar came from a senior partner from one of the Big 4 accountancy firms, Price Waterhouse. One scenario for the preferred ultimate outcome aligned income, trustee and company tax at 27%, paid for by increasing GST to 15%. At the top: Big change The graph tops […]

Tim Watkin slams tax cuts for tax cheats

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:18 pm, February 1st, 2010 - 16 comments

On the Q+A blog, Tim Watkin rips into the proposed tax changes. Part of the post: …You might think that such a new source of tax income would open the door for tax cuts for the poorest New Zealanders; after all, they struggle the most in tough economic times and spend a higher proportion of […]

Goff: no GST hikes or tax cuts for rich

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:06 am, January 29th, 2010 - 30 comments

In his speech yesterday Phil Goff articulated Labour’s position on tax in no uncertain terms and came out very strongly against wealthy tax dodgers : “Too many people on good incomes avoid and evade paying taxes. It’s not right that some top earners pay a lower percentage of their income in tax than those on the […]

Nats in line for big $$ from own tax reforms

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:23 am, January 27th, 2010 - 31 comments

Fran O’Sullivan has a piece pointing out the vested interests of senior Nats regarding tax reform: “More than two-thirds of the National line-up have beneficial interests in trusts (entities that the Inland Revenue believes are responsible for a $300 million hole in tax revenues at the current 33 per cent tax rate).” – National wants to […]