CGT as a Charitable Donation

Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, March 2nd, 2019 - 31 comments
Categories: capital gains, Deep stuff, poverty, socialism, tax - Tags: , , , ,

The Government has dropped the ball [hat tip to Ad] with the report from the Tax Working Group and left a narrative void till April, or May, or till they do something substantial and relevant (…). This void is filled up with attack tweets from the Leader of the Opposition and the usual MSM noise. Don’t get me wrong, these tweets are not attacking in their own right but they are about the Government, or rather the recommendations of the TWG, attacking ordinary Kiwis going about their ordinary lives. The tweets themselves are masterpieces of irony, hypocrisy, tone deafness, and comedy and are as harmless and funny as a flying rubber sex aid hitting an unmovable object.

We hate paying tax. Even though we all know it’s necessary for a functioning society and we all benefit tremendously from taxes paid throughout our lives we seem to have this in-built negative reaction to paying taxes and nearly die from tax increases or even just thinking about it. The objections span a wide range but often objectors mention that our taxes are being used for stuff that they don’t agree with but they have no say in, no control over. This is particularly common among neo-liberals who carry high up in their flags personal control and self-responsibility, especially in their own affairs.

Contrast this with charity, donations, and voluntary work, for example. People love giving, freely. People love helping others, from the goodness of their hearts. The rich – some of them – don’t mind showing their largesse by donating large sums of money to the cause of their choice. A little bit of attention and positive PR (AKA being in the limelight) does help. It suits their egos and they generally have large egos. They are becoming a separate class of citizens (often domiciled overseas) who have to be admired, wowed, and lauded with gongs: philanthropists.

However, we might not need their largesse if we were to tax the rich and seriously and not so seriously wealthy at rates that are more appropriate. This argument could include any large taxes that are infrequent and unpredictable like a CGT. If we were to legalise for a part of any CGT to be donated to a charity of your choice, with all the fanfare and largesse on show, it could well change something we hate into something we love – the line between love and hate is a fine one at the best of times.

We would get to have a choice, we get to do something good that we love doing! It might take some practice, some getting used to, but I reckon it could work. Imagine this, you’ve just sold one of your rental properties and netted a CG (profit, if you like, or good luck or windfall) of $1 million and you have to hand your fair share, say $300,000, to society. You organise a big charity fundraiser (e.g. a BBQ sizzler with a blind auction of donated goods to keep up with the trendy Kondomania hype) with friends and family and raise another $50,000. The sum total of $350,000 will be donated as you wish. The media will be there because they like feel-good easy stories and you and your friends and family get the feeling of enormous satisfaction, compassion, love and happiness – it might even spark joy! I reckon this could be a winner!

What do you reckon?

31 comments on “CGT as a Charitable Donation ”

  1. Sam 1

    I would hope that Jacinda and her cabinet would err on the side of pragmatism and balance its budget and not raid welfare to the poor and disabled because the opposition will take that as if you vote for the opposition they will not take those things from our taxes but from the down trodden.

  2. arkie 2

    It would be a good move to stop taxing welfare as income, raise to the tax-free threshold to a 40-hr week at minimum wage and tie the tax brackets to minimum wage increases. CGT is just a matter of fairness and that’s the real ‘kiwi way’.

    • Sam 2.1

      Also it’s a right wing policy to try and privatise the tax system through philanthropy. It’s the worst parts of trickle down economics which has been thoroughly debunked.

  3. Andre 3

    I’ve got a really cynical view of the entire charity sector.

    Far too many of them are run as enterprises for the benefit of the executives, doing the bare minimum of “good works” to plausibly maintain their charitable status.

    Far too many of them have really offensive strings attached to their “giving”. Whether they’re of a religious nature or some other kind of social engineering, it’s still about trying to exert control.

    Charitable giving is often about powerful control freaks wanting to boost their particular hobby-horses, rather than things that benefit society as a whole.

    Whereas when the government undertakes the “good works” charities ostensibly do, there’s at least some chance those activities will be done as some sort of co-ordinated plan with some kind of rational prioritisation of resources.

    So nah, screw the charities. I’m all for going even a step further and taking away their tax-deductible status. Those donors so full of themselves that think they’re better than full-time government professionals specifically tasked with balancing priorities for the nation as a whole can express their control-freakery out of after-tax money.

    • left_forward 3.1

      Sounds like you know very little about the charities sector. You are not the sort of person I would go to to seek policy advice on for sure.
      This is like blaming all companies by saying there are far too many of them who have shonkey practices. – Nah lets screw all companies because of these few.

      • Andre 3.1.1

        Let’s start with tax-privileged charitable organisations of the type run by Density Church, or Scientologists, or even the competitive advantage enjoyed by the likes of Sanitarium. You want to defend those? As far as I’m concerned, the mere existence of those kinds of models shows the underlying principle of that particular tax-privileged sector is deeply flawed.

        Then there’s the next tier that’s not quite such a comprehensive rort, but where the executives of a charity indulge themselves in shameful extravagance with charity money. Buffoon Bradbury talks about one example of it here:

        https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/12/13/are-we-really-sad-kidscan-is-getting-dumped-really/

        Occasionally there’s a charity comes along whose stated goals I agree with and as far as I know are careful with their management spending in order for as much as possible of the donated money to go to the intended purpose. I’m sometimes momentarily tempted to donate. But these purposes always end up being things I strongly believe the state should be doing, and if the charity ends up even doing a mediocre job it gives the government cover to abdicate its responsibilities.

        So I think in the end it’s much better for that money to go directly to the state rather than a charity. Because, for example, I think it’s much better for how much resource gets allocated to cancer care is determined by careful professionals balancing the costs and benefits across the entire health care spend, rather than how successfully the Cancer Society can pull heartstrings.

        Then there’s the fundraising companies that charities employ that take their very substantial cuts:

        https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/20169204/should-fundraising-companies-disclose-how-much-of-our-donations-they-keep

        • RedLogix 3.1.1.1

          Your faith in big government is touching …

          Big govt welfare does indeed work, but we also know it tends to be a crude, dehumanising instrument. What we have evolved in the West is a hybrid system, one that relies on the state to provide a ‘one size fits all’, bare bones safety net; complemented by networks of varied charities which can more flexibly target specific areas that interest them.

          It’s not a perfect system, but I struggle to point to an example of anything better.

          • Andre 3.1.1.1.1

            Your faith in big government is touching …

            It’s probably more a case of the depths of my cynicism about what the charity industry has become over the last few decades, and how parasites have taken over to suck out most of what was once good about charities.

            • RedLogix 3.1.1.1.1.1

              Without gainsaying your legitimate point there; I could also suggest that much of this negative change was driven by the charities moving to contractual models forced on them by big govt departments …

          • KJT 3.1.1.1.2

            Targeted, big Government welfare isn’t working because, since Richardson, it has been deliberately punitive. And underfunded. The well off had, to have their tax cuts.

            Largely untargeted, where it allows human dignity, such as the super, have been remarkably effective.

        • left_forward 3.1.1.2

          Well, there is a lot that I agree with there.

          However, you have missed something important.
          When a community wishes to act as a collective to provide local services in a manner that is responsive to a community need, a Charitable Trust entity is a pretty good vehicle for that, and I have seen and been involved with many examples.

  4. RedLogix 4

    Contrast this with charity, donations, and voluntary work, for example. People love giving, freely. People love helping others, from the goodness of their hearts. The rich – some of them – don’t mind showing their largesse by donating large sums of money to the cause of their choice. A little bit of attention and positive PR (AKA being in the limelight) does help.

    The left has always been suspicious of charity and philanthropy, sometimes not without good reason. Yet this critique misses one essential difference between the generosity of the individual and that of the state. Individual welfare is essentially a personal matter, it can be shaped and targeted in a manner that enhances the life of the recipient and moves them out of the poverty trap they are often in.

    At it’s height the Islamic world had a practice which is pertinent here. Every Friday after prayers it was an ethical expectation that the poor and the wealthy of the congregation would meet on the steps of the mosque to distribute alms. In a world completely absent any notion of the welfare state, this had the immediate effect of assisting those in dire need.

    But there was also a more persistent, powerful effect. Because the transaction was personal it had some interesting psychological impacts. For one it kept the human face of poverty live and real in the minds of the more fortunate. It tended to minimise the isolation of the elites from the realities of life for the masses. It also created an incentive for the donor to find ways, beyond the mere giving of money, to help the poor find ways to move out of their poverty trap. Set them up in small businesses, find employment, basic social networking at a very intimate organic level.

    For the recipients it meant having to personally face your donor and make your case. While the Faith created a right to be there, a right to be helped, it also created a responsibility to find your own specific way out of dire poverty if you possibly could.

    The modern welfare state transforms this into a faceless, bureaucratic function that corrodes away this sense of personal connection and trust, making the experience for both donor (taxpayer) and recipient (beneficiary) both demeaning and diminishing. The taxpayer feels little sense of the value of their personal contribution, while the beneficiary feels devalued and reduced to a second class of citizen.

    In the modern context it would be foolhardy to suggest we return directly to such a model; and I’m not doing so. But a deeper understanding of the emotional drivers and needs, that underpin our concept of welfare, is certainly worth discussing if we are going to devise better ways to do it.

    • Incognito 4.1

      I think you captured it very well, thank you. There are other ways and they can only come to the fore in a wide-ranging general inclusive discussion in which many will and do participate.

      • RedLogix 4.1.1

        Thank you. Sometimes its discouraging to have a comments like this ignored; while others stalk the comment threads sniffing out the slightest impurity to get outraged about.

        The longer I participate here the more convinced I am that the primary problems we face are no longer so amenable to classic left wing class/economic analysis. The big challenges are psychological/spiritual in nature.

        NZ is a country wealthy enough so that none of it’s citizens need suffer from physical or economic want. So why not? What holds us back?

        Just ranting about the greed and selfishness of the already fortunate and wealthy, while emotionally satisfying for some fleeting moments, manifestly changes nothing. It’s a dead end.

        • Incognito 4.1.1.1

          I know what you’re saying and paradoxically I tend to avoid reading let alone replying to the comments on the posts I write. However, today I felt differently and I’m glad I did.

          The longer I participate here the more convinced I am that the primary problems we face are no longer so amenable to classic left wing class/economic analysis. The big challenges are psychological/spiritual in nature.

          Indeed, same for me and the older I get the more I realise that “It’s the economy, stupid” needs to be kicked off its pedestal in contemporary politics and discussions about society.

          Our big challenges (still) are and always have been psychological/spiritual in nature. What makes this time in human history so interesting is that right now we don’t seem to have a clue or any answers that we can apply. Or at least, that’s what we think is the case.

          In the last few weeks there have been a couple of posts and a few comments here on TS that really stimulated my thinking but I’m not ready yet to put it into a post. Let’s just say for now that I’m optimistic about the future but that it’ll be a hell of a ride (but not to Hell!).

        • KJT 4.1.1.2

          The big challenge remains the same.

          The conflict between, those who give back to the society that nurtures them.
          And those who are simply out for all they can get.

          We tend to call the first left and the latter, right wing.
          Not always fair differentiation. There are people like Marilyn Waring on the right wing. And a lot of anti democracy, we know better on the “academic” left.

          • RedLogix 4.1.1.2.1

            The conflict between, those who give back to the society that nurtures them. And those who are simply out for all they can get.

            That is our view as left wingers; but you do realise that right wingers hold exactly the same view as well?

            • KJT 4.1.1.2.1.1

              No. They damn well don’t. See Gosman, on people expecting a return for compassion.

              • RedLogix

                lol … can I kindly suggest you missed my point by quite a lot.

                Absolutely the right will underpin’s their value system differently to the left. When we see tax dodgers, they see beneficiaries dodging responsibility for their lives. Where we see capitalists leeching off the sweat of the workers brow, they see the innovator and risk taker generating wealth and prosperity. And so on.

                Reflect for a moment and run those words through the lens of a right winger if you can, and see what it means to them. You don’t have to agree or like it, but I’m asking if you can understand.

                Explicitly I’m not trying to say the two systems are equivalent; nor am I suggesting to anyone here we can abdicate those innate values which make us who we are. Remain authentic to who you are.

                But if we want to lay claim to who we are as left wingers, we must at the same time acknowledge the legitimate claims of those who are on the right. Endlessly demonising them is … so 20th century.

            • KJT 4.1.1.2.1.2

              https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-wealth-reduces-compassion/

              “Who is more likely to lie, cheat, and steal—the poor person or the rich one? It’s temping to think that the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to act fairly. After all, if you already have enough for yourself, it’s easier to think about what others may need. But research suggests the opposite is true: as people climb the social ladder, their compassionate feelings towards other people decline”.

    • KJT 4.3

      Sort of true.

      When I describe the individual circumstances of someone I know of, to a well off person in my social circle. Such as the women who looks after her two mentally retarded brothers, they say “we should help them”. I answer, “then we need to pay taxes”. The answer is usually, ” but there are all these people who made poor choices” or ” solo Mum’s breeding for a living”, “I don’t mind paying for your example however”.

      The deserving and undeserving poor.

      But, almost all the poor are like my example.

      Caught in circumstances beyond their control. Just look at the mental effects of growing up in a family that is always under stress, through not knowing if they can pay for tomorrow..

      All the false propaganda memes seem to have taken root. So the greedy can feel less uncomfortable about poor people. Unfortunately they have biased many people who could be compassionate.

  5. CHCoff 5

    https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/pm-wants-to-hear-from-people-who-dont-have-a-column-in-the-herald/ar-BBUgH7F?li=BBqdk7Q&ocid=mailsignout

    How can a capital gains tax be done effectively, if there can’t be a discussion on a FTT (financial transaction tax)?

    A well rounded CGT has to be looked at in terms of a FTT, as to look at one without the other, is a blind spot basically in implementation of either. It might be common practise elsewhere, but then how can greater elsewhere resulting or related problems then potentially be avoided?

    A good sustainable govt. should be careful to not build up a sustainable case against itself to anyone thing in particular to the mind of common prejudice, in the absence of reasoned debate also.

    Finally, if giving the natia something relevant to talk about for election, why not make it useful as well?

    • xanthe 5.1

      Would also like to see more discusssion and awareness of FTT as a useful tool for a rairer taxatiom system is there any mention in the tax working group report (which shamefully i have not read!)

    • Incognito 5.2

      Good comment, thanks.

      CGT is an entirely different beast and may therefore trigger a different (emotional) response than FTT, or GST for that matter.

      My point is that the main problem around tax in general and CGT in particular is an emotional one, an attitude issue. This is why it is so easy for opponents to avoid any meaningful debate by simply generating mass hysteria and irrational fear mongering.

      As RedLogix said @ 4, we need to understand the emotional drivers and needs and include this into a (holistic) discussion about welfare. The debate and associated narrative theme(s) should focus on welfare (giving and taking care of) rather than on tax (taking); two sides of the same coin but approached from opposite perspectives.

      • KJT 5.2.1

        Labour put themselves on the back foot, when they fail to put their efforts into explaining why we need taxes, and the value we get in our public services.

        I suspect because some in Labour are still Neo-liberals at heart.

        National didn’t even bother. Just put in 18 new taxes and raised GST, to pay for reducing the top rate, without any public discussion whatsoever.

    • Incognito 6.1

      Not quite the same category as ordinary Kiwis who (might) donate a (minor) portion of their CGT to IRD or a charity of their choice. This doesn’t make them philanthropists per se but there’s nothing to stop them donating more than they have to. In fact, I’m pretty sure that many people who’d object to the introduction of a CGT do donate to charities and other good causes. That paradox could be exploited, if you like.

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    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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