In Tax we trust

Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, January 24th, 2022 - 86 comments
Categories: Economy, poverty, tax - Tags:

Millionaires and billionaires worldwide are calling for governments to tax them more.

From their website:

To our fellow millionaires and billionaires,

If you’re participating in  the World Economic Forum’s ‘online Davos’ this January , you’re going to be joining an exclusive group of people looking for an answer to the question behind this year’s theme, ‘how do we work together and restore trust?’

You’re not going to find the answer in a private forum, surrounded by other millionaires and billionaires and the world’s most powerful people. If you’re paying attention, you’ll find that you’re part of the problem.

Trust – in politics, in society, in one another – is not built in tiny side rooms only accessible by the very richest and most powerful. It’s not built by billionaire space travelers who make a fortune out of a pandemic but pay almost nothing in taxes and provide poor wages for their workers. Trust is built through accountability, through well-oiled, fair, and open democracies that provide good services and support all their citizens.

And the bedrock of a strong democracy is a fair tax system. A fair tax system.

As millionaires, we know that the current tax system is not fair. Most of us can say that, while the world has gone through an immense amount of suffering in the last two years, we have actually seen our wealth rise during the pandemic – yet few if any of us can honestly say that we pay our fair share in taxes.

This injustice baked into the foundation of the international tax system has created a colossal lack of trust between the people of the world and the elites who are the architects of this system. Bridging that divide is going to take more than billionaire vanity projects or piecemeal philanthropic gestures – it’s going to take a complete overhaul of a system that up until now has been deliberately designed to make the rich richer.

To put it simply, restoring trust requires taxing the rich. The world – every country in it – must demand the rich pay their fair share. Tax us, the rich, and tax us now.

The truth is that ‘Davos’ doesn’t deserve the world’s trust right now. For all the countless hours spent talking about making the world a better place, the conference has produced little tangible value amidst a torrent of self-congratulations. Until participants acknowledge the simple, effective solution staring them in the face – taxing the rich – the people of the world will continue to see their so-called dedication to fixing the world’s problems as little more than a performance.

History paints a pretty bleak picture of what the endgame of extremely unequal societies looks like. For all our well-being – rich and poor alike – it’s time to confront inequality and choose to tax the rich. Show the people of the world that you deserve their trust.

If you don’t, then all the private talks won’t change what’s coming – it’s taxes or pitchforks. Let’s listen to history and choose wisely.

The Signers

A long time ago, the late great Jim Anderton said similarly:

You can’t go on developing an underclass of larger and larger numbers and always sit there being poverty stricken. Sooner or later they’re going to start smashing the place to pieces and we’ve seen that in other countries so why would we think we’re sacrosanct here? And then my point is to them, how secure is your investment then?”

86 comments on “In Tax we trust ”

  1. Gosman 1

    To be precise, they are calling on governments to tax OTHER millionaires and billionaires more. There shouldn’t be anything to is nothing to stop individuals coming to an arrangement with the government where they gift a larger proportion of their income if they so desire.

    • Ad 1.1

      Would you?

    • Tricledrown 1.2

      Yeah right I worked in inland revenue.

      Of all medium to large business’s through out NZ only one paid their full taxes. When I worked their.

      Gosman if every body paid their taxes especially the wealthy taxes would be lower for everyone else.

      Including you Gosman who is most likely to be a lowly paid fanboy minion.

      If you were one of the wealthy elite you would not be wasting your time posting on this site.

      • DukeEll 1.2.1

        Because they would give someone who can barely articulate a thought onto paper access to every single large and medium sized company in New Zealand

      • mikesh 1.2.2

        Gosman if every body paid their taxes especially the wealthy taxes would be lower for everyone else.

        Sounds like an Irishism.

  2. Stuart Munro 2

    I expect little response from our 'centrist' politicians – unless they can figure out a way to parlay a tax increase into a donation to their parties or electoral expenses.

  3. arkie 3

    The Greens have been advocating for a wealth tax for years, a part of their Poverty Action Plan:

    • A 1% wealth tax for those with a net-worth over $1 million.
    • And two new top income tax brackets for a more progressive tax system that redistributes wealth.

    https://www.greens.org.nz/poverty_action_plan

    • Sabine 3.1

      We don't need a wealth tax, if we would essentially just cut a few of the 'write of schemes' and 'loopholes' that so conveniently allows for people with the means to hire good accountants to avoid paying the taxes that already exists.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124391673/a-beginners-guide-to-paying-less-tax-if-youre-very-rich

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/127240187/ir-certain-to-find-wealthiest-kiwis-pay-low-effective-tax-rate-experts-say

      The wealth tax was a dumb idiotic idea last time, and its even dumber this time around. There are many 'millionaires' in NZ, ordinary people that own houses that have increased dramatically in value based on nothing else then the government making cheap credit cheaper for hte very rich and cash flush last year and forced a buying frenzie that saw houses in some areas double in costs, with no changes to the job market and other factors, based on nothing but pure speculation.

      But surely that would be easier to do then to actually enforce existing tax laws and maybe even arrest and jail the occasional rich lister who is not paying their full tax bill. Oh, that would upset their rich friends? lol. The dears.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300238241/more-than-40-of-millionaires-paying-tax-rates-lower-than-the-lowest-earners-government-data-reveals

      The wealthiest New Zealanders pay just 12 per cent of their total income in tax on average, according to research from Inland Revenue and Treasury, Stuff can reveal.

      The same research found 42 per cent of the wealthiest New Zealanders were paying lower tax rates than the lowest tax rate paid by people who earn their money from an ordinary job or a benefit.

      That compares with an effective tax rate of about 16-18 per cent on New Zealanders earning the median income from salaries and wages of $55,000-$60,000.

      Maybe the Greens should stick to Gender Woo Woo, it suits them better, all they have to do is throw glitter about and pretend it fixed something.

      • arkie 3.1.1

        Yes the Greens are responsible for how Labour has been governing. They are also entirely responsible for Labour MP Jan Tinetti's BDMRR Bill, as well as the under-enforcement of existing tax law. All while outside of Cabinet!

        /

        What you are complaining about can all be laid squarely at the feet of the Labour Government. The desire to punish the Greens for attempting to offer alternative policies is baffling. It works out really well for those already in power. Must we let perfect be the enemy of good?

      • Craig H 3.1.2

        I prefer land tax personally, but it's not hard to adjust wealth tax thresholds upwards to account for increasing house prices – make the threshold $3 million per person, job done.

        If it were as easy to remove tax loopholes as you think it is, surely it would have happened by now – parliaments and tax departments have been trying for over a century to do it. If wealthy NZers are being taxed at an average of 12% of their income, maybe a wealth or land tax is the easiest way to tax them higher.

  4. Blazer 4

    The U.S.A's most prosperous time was in the 50's when taxes went up to 80% plus.

    Thatcher,Reagan,Greenspan….bought and paid for by the rich accelerated the present….diabolical…situation.

    • alwyn 4.1

      The average tax rate on the top 1% of households in the 1950s wasn't anything like 80%. It was in fact about 42% which wasn't much lower than today.

      This link is a bit out of date in that it only goes up to about 2014 but it illustrates the effect.

      https://taxfoundation.org/taxes-on-the-rich-1950s-not-high/

      • Blazer 4.1.1

        From your link…' the top federal income tax rate was 91 percent for most of the decade.[1]'

        So that suggests avoidance…big time…

        as for..'It was in fact about 42% which wasn't much lower than today.'….you mean higher…right.

        • alwyn 4.1.1.1

          Whoops. Yes I did mean higher.

          It wasn't avoidance in the sense of criminal behaviour. The US tax code has lots of deliberate and legal ways to reduce your tax. I doubt if anyone has ever paid the hypothetical top tax rate.

        • Tricledrown 4.1.1.2

          That 91% only affected income over US$200,000 in today's money over $2 million per annum.

          Not many if any would have paid that amount.

      • mac1 4.1.2

        https://teara.govt.nz/en/graph/21532/top-income-tax-rates

        Graph with top tax rate figures for NZ. Alwyn's figures apply to US.

        Te Ara says "The top rate of income tax has varied widely over time. It first spiked in the First World War, and again in the 1920s depression and in the Second World War, when it peaked at 90%. The top rate remained high until 1988 when it dropped to 33%. These high top rates of income tax encouraged widespread tax evasion and avoidance through the many loopholes in the complicated tax system that had evolved following the Second World War."

        • alwyn 4.1.2.1

          Of course my numbers refer to the US.

          I was replying to Blazer who had been talking about the US when he said "The U.S.A's most prosperous time was in the 50's ….."

          • mac1 4.1.2.1.1

            "Of course my numbers refer to the US." Of course. Anyone reading your reference could see that. I was just pointing out the NZ parallel, which was of high top end rates.

            Sorry, Alwyn, but we're not after you all the time. 😉 Comments earlier had had a NZ context. IIRC, the tax reductions of the Eighties under Douglas were justified by him as the high earners spent lots of energy in successful tax avoidance, and the lowered top rate to 33% coupled with a much harder to avoid GST was designed to counter that.

            "It was in the 1980s that one of NZ’s richest men (Bob Jones) commented that for the rich, paying tax was optional – because they always had the option of structuring their affairs to grow their capital and live off it rather than generating current income and paying tax on it." https://taxworkinggroup.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2018-09/twg-subm-3976734-peter-rankin.pdf

  5. Jackel 5

    It must be nice to be some. After all, all they have to do is be fortunate enough to own something that makes their money for them. No wonder they have plenty of time to piddle around avoiding tax. Btw there's no risk involved if you do your homework properly.

  6. adam 6

    Is it because they worked out the Hamptons are flat, and won't protect them from the pitch forks?

    But why both with tax reform, if the state is just going to just keep funding a out of control military which is killing us all with it's carbon foot print.

  7. dv 7

    Transaction tax.

  8. Adrian Thornton 8

    Eat the Rich….

    Probably the greatest UK PM they never had J.Corbyn was publicly always against even the existence of billionaires…which is actually the correct starting point for this conversation.

    Jeremy Corbyn is right: billionaires and poverty should not coexist

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/jeremy-corbyn-right-billionaires-and-poverty-should-not-coexist/

    • Tricledrown 8.1

      Very admirable ideals but big money controls the media.

      The murdocracy will destroy any socialist moves.

  9. kejo 9

    Starving Afghanis, Vaxxing the world, Funding clean energy, etc. etc. Any one of the worlds top six billionaires could afford to solve these problems, or at least have a decent go at them and not even have to sell a single one of their gold plated dildos, They,re just not decent enough.

  10. Blade 10

    It would seem from the above most think they have a moral RIGHT to thieve other peoples assets.

    I have no problem with wealthy people wanting to be taxed more; good on them. But what about wealthy people who don't want to be taxed more?

    • Craig H 10.1

      Taxation isn't theft.

      • Blade 10.1.1

        Why?

        • Ad 10.1.1.1

          Because in New Zealand it's an elected arrangement.

          • Blade 10.1.1.1.1

            That was thrust on us at birth…in return for dwindling services and care.

            • arkie 10.1.1.1.1.1

              So was capitalism, are you prepared to label that theft too? Because it is.

              • Blade

                I don't think that's a good analogy?:

                ”An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.”

                And theft?

                • arkie

                  Profit necessitates wage theft.

                  I work for a business, they pay me less than than I earn for the business. There's their profit, exploiting my labour, it's theft.

                  • Blade

                    No, it's not. You can walk. No one is holding a gun to your head. You can even start your own business.

                    I once worked for a business. I worked out that in the first 2 hours of a Monday morning I had paid for my wages. The rest of the week was my free labour for the business.

                    I was a socialist in those day. That realisation made me angry. It took a few years to understand that it was just a perception, whether right or wrong, and that I had choices.

                    • arkie

                      Having the choice to walk away from exploitation doesn't stop it from being exploitation.

                      That you stopped perceiving the theft of your wages just demonstrates your choice to submit to exploitation by your employer.

                      Ultimately we all must do this as we are required to pay for the things we need to live, but you're not better off by ignoring the wage theft that underpins capitalism, just makes you useful for the capitalists.

                  • Gezza

                    I work for a business, they pay me less than than I earn for the business. There's their profit, exploiting my labour, it's theft.

                    I think that's far too simplistic a statement to be a valid claim. Sure, there are plenty of businesses with owners and executives paying themselves (& some investors) far too much and their employees far too little to be considered a fair wage.

                    But if every business paid their employees exactly what they earned for the business there wouldn't be any profit so no available capital for inventory, warehousing & office rental, office staff, business systems etc.

                    It's working out what is a fair rate of payment for employees vs owners, execs, investors where a too-unregulated market fails the workers.

                    • arkie

                      Okay, sure, it’s too simplistic, but so is ‘taxation is theft’.

                      What doesn’t change is that profit is extraction of value, and it ends up concentrating it into the pockets of the capitalists. There’s no disputing that.

                      But even if we accept that we must be exploited so we can earn, why isn’t more said and done about the huge amount of actual wage theft?

                      Each year millions of workers across the country are victims of wage theft—meaning they are paid less than the full wages to which they are legally entitled. Between 2017 and 2020, more than $3 billion in stolen wages was recovered on behalf of workers

                      This staggering amount represents just a small portion of wages stolen from workers across the country. And while wage theft impacts workers broadly, it disproportionately affects low-wage workers, many of whom already are struggling to make ends meet. Wage theft also disproportionately impacts women, people of color, and immigrant workers because they are more likely than other workers to be in low-wage jobs. Finally, these stolen wages hurt local economies and tax revenues.

                      https://www.epi.org/publication/wage-theft-2021/

                    • Gezza

                      @ arkie

                      But even if we accept that we must be exploited so we can earn, why isn't more done about the huge amount of actual wage theft?

                      I note that's a report on the situation in the US. Although we see news reports of the same situations occurring here in Kiwiland too, when bad employers are finally caught & prosecuted.

                      I agree more should be done to ensure that these situations don't arise and where they are found they are dealt with harshly. It usually boils down to the reluctance of exploited workers to make waves because they’re not the brightest & don't know what they're entitled to, and/or they are unlawful immigrants working illegally, and/or they come from countries where that kind of exploitation is common so it's not that unusual a situation for them.

                      Government agencies charged with investigating such cases are usually under-resourced.

                      It probably happened less in NZ when there was compulsory unionism.

                  • Tiger Mountain

                    Yes. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels developed The Theory of Surplus Value to help explain how employers really make a profit. It is primarily not due to pricing, but paying workers less than the values they create with their physical and intellectual Labour.

            • Tricledrown 10.1.1.1.1.2

              Blade because taxes have gone down less money is available for services and care.

              • Blade

                I don't think its all about tax take. I reckon it's more about how tax money is ill spent by all political parties.

            • Ad 10.1.1.1.1.3

              No longer dwindling: Over 2 years New Zealand has spent more public money per capita sustaining economic growth and social cohesion than all but a few developed nations on earth.

              Arguably on the current polling, there is no stronger social contract in the world.

        • Craig H 10.1.1.2

          Because collective decisionmaking is currently agreed to be delegated to elected representatives and promulgated through laws. People are not required to live under the collective umbrella of our system, but as long as they do, it comes with the requirements to follow those rules including paying taxes and those agreed rules also include enforcement, and the benefits of collective protection and defense among other things.

          People are welcome to leave NZ or even just subsist in the bush if they particularly want to minimise obligations.

      • mikesh 10.1.2

        Property is theft, according to Proudhon.

    • millsy 10.2

      Taxes pay for social services like health care, education etc.

      I note that most countries with lower taxes have absolutely no public health services to speak of, and that those who cannot afford health care are just left to die.

      I also note that National shut scores of hospitals to pay for tax cuts in the 1990's.

      • Blade 10.2.1

        Did I ever have a choice not to pay tax in return for not accessing public services?

        Why not give people a tax break for taking out private insurance and education?

        ''I note that most countries with lower taxes have absolutely no public health services to speak of, and that those who cannot afford health care are just left to die.''

        Are these third world nations you speak of?

        ''I also note that National shut scores of hospitals to pay for tax cuts in the 1990's.''

        I may be wrong but I don't remember National closing scores of hospitals.

        • millsy 10.2.1.1

          Quite frankly, if you oppose public services, you are an enemy of all that is good and decent in society.

        • Obtrectator 10.2.1.2

          "I may be wrong but I don't remember National closing scores of hospitals."

          They didn't. The tax cuts were paid for by shoving lots more responsibilities on to local government bodies, who to discharge them then had to either get themselves into ruinous levels of debt or increase rates by unacceptable percentages.

        • Incognito 10.2.1.3

          I may be wrong but I don't remember National closing scores of hospitals.

          They did.

          In the 1990s major reforms to the health sector by the government led to the closure or downsizing of many general hospitals, particularly smaller ones in rural areas. Local communities fought against many closures, usually unsuccessfully.

          https://teara.govt.nz/en/hospitals/page-5

          Grave business

          In 1998 the Alliance Party planted 54 white crosses on the lawn of the Stratford Hospital in Taranaki, which closed the same year. The crosses represented hospitals that had closed between 1984 and 1998. Party member and Parliamentary candidate Kevin Campbell said, ‘[W]e’re talking about the slow death of our public health system and this is a way to really show people what’s happening.’

          The National government separated health providers from funders in 1993, and the Area Health Boards were turned into Crown Health Enterprises (Hospital and Health Services from 1996). They operated like businesses and competed for contracts with four separate funding agencies called Regional Health Authorities. Many hospitals were closed during this period. [my italics]

          https://teara.govt.nz/en/hospitals/page-6

      • Tricledrown 10.2.2

        National cut the health budget by 20% from 2008 to 2017 by their sinking lid policy of not increasing funding per head of population.National made a big hoo ha over a $100 million here and there of health spending yet that was less than inflation and no extra funding forthe 20% increase in population

        For Tax cuts in election year (election bribes)with user pays for the poor .

  11. Scott 11

    What I can never understand is why the 90% don't vote for the rich to pay more as it would be beneficial to the 90%

    • Blazer 11.1

      'If Voting Made a Difference, They Wouldn't Let Us Do It' -Mark Twain.

    • Gosman 11.2

      You are assuming it would be beneficial to the 90%

      • Blade 11.2.1

        Exactly. Every action has a reaction. If the wealthy closed down major businesses, it's not the rich that would initially be affected – it's the 90%.

        • Blazer 11.2.1.1

          That's what happened in…Venezuela…and that's how sanctions hurt…the poorest.

          • Gosman 11.2.1.1.1

            Sanctions don't really hurt the poorest in Venezuela or at least not as much as the government policies do.

            • Blazer 11.2.1.1.1.1

              Don't know how you arrived at that conclusion.

              The U.S wanted the worlds biggest oil reserves and tried to invoke regime change but were …foiled.

              The C.I.A stooge Guaido was even recognised by the U.S as Venezuelas president and endorsed by their vassals.

              Russia with military protection for Maduro and Iran with supermarket stocks helped the country withstand the….sanctions.

    • Craig H 11.3

      In some countries like Norway, they have.

  12. Tricledrown 12

    Venezuela it's OK when their is a murderous corrupt right wing dictatorship in power but a left wing govt / dictatorship no go.

  13. Tiger Mountain 13

    A few big names missing from the signatories. If you believe billionaires want to pay tax at all apart from special pleading for being allowed to continue their pillage…

    Adrian above is onto it–the parasitic squillionaire bludger class should be retired for good in, their entirety. Don’t put put them up against the wall though, exile them to Branson’s island with a generous monthly stipend equivalent to the US minimum wage.

    • mikesh 13.1

      The wealthy get kudos from donating to large charitable foundations, but there is no kudos to be had from paying taxes.

  14. Foreign waka 14

    One can only hope that those big earners will pay their fair share. For NZ that means a big increase.

    If this article is correct, NZ has currently 368172 main beneficiaries on a job seeker or other support payment. This is 11.7 % of the working age population. Not 3.2 % unemployment as is so eagerly reported. Lies and statistics.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/127578264/nzs-official-jobless-figures-are-abject-nonsense

    • Craig H 14.1

      That article is the usual misunderstanding of official statistics. His general point about how unemployment rates are calculated could be made of every comparison to NZ unemployment rates in the last 30 years as Stats NZ use the standard OECD definition.

      One point which he ignored is that in the past, we had a sickness benefit, but that was combined with the dole to make Jobseeker's Support, so now the number and % are higher because they include people who in the past would have been on sickness benefits.

    • Gezza 14.2

      Currently, 368,172 Kiwis are the recipient of a main benefit, 11.7 per cent of the working-age population, whether it be Jobseeker Support, Sole Parent Support or Supported Living.

      The above figure includes those on Sole Parent Support & Supported Living benefits.

      This para might give a better idea of the unemployment rate?

      …The bulk of today’s beneficiaries are on Jobseeker Support, which has rocketed from 123,042 four years ago, to 187,989 today. That’s a 53 per cent increase. As a proportion of the working-age population, it has leapt from 4.1 per cent to 6.0 per cent.

      But I note Craig H’s comment above & don’t know how easy it is to measure the true level of unemployment these days. This seems as good a way as any.

  15. KJT 15

    Note. The difference between NZ and countries which have CGT.
    May be an image of 6 people and text that says "Global house price index October 2021 Q1 1980 =100 Government ignores Tax Working Group reccomendations around property housing. Jacinda Ardern confrm Labour wants house prices to continue rising. New Zealand H Labour Green FIRST 3000 2500 N act/ 2000 Australia Labour 서부한시 FIRST 1500 U.K. Canada 1000 1980 United States 1990 500 2000 Germany 2010 100 |2020"

    • Ad 15.1

      What features of an NZ CGT beyond the 10 year Bright Line Test and the writeoff changes would make a difference?

      New Zealand has such a thin economy – one leg of which is housing ownership – that on reflection Ardern's call was right for where we are now.

      • arkie 15.1.1

        The proposed CGT that would exclude the family home would have no real impact on owner-occupiers.

        Is the ‘leg’ is home ownership though? We have the lowest level of home ownership in 70 years.

        Our economy is propped up by ownership of other peoples homes, speculative real estate investment. House hoarding.

        • Ad 15.1.1.1

          Answer the question then.

          • arkie 15.1.1.1.1

            Taxing the income made when selling property would disincentivise those types of investments. It's not rocket science, or brain surgery, people invest in property because for 30+ years capital gains are a tax free income, demand keeps prices high, reduce demand, prices will lower.

            I note you edited your comment to change it to 'housing ownership', very cunning.

            • mikesh 15.1.1.1.1.1

              If a property worth a million dollars is sold for a million dollars, where is the "income"? There may have been a capital gain but one can't take a capital gain to the supermarket and spend it on groceries; capital gain is capital, and capital is usually spent on investment. Investments should yield income, which IS taxable.

              • pat

                Rising equity is indeed taken to the car/boat dealerships and many other traders ( perhaps not the supermarket directly)….increased consumer spending is the goal of the 'wealth effect'.

                Unfortunately it is activity provided by debt.

      • KJT 15.1.2

        Our rapidly rising land prices prove that "call" was wrong.

        A partial capital gains tax that is fairly easily bypassed, is no substitute for a suite of measures including a real CGT, to stop the favouring of “investment” in land for capital gains.

        It is not just housing that is affected. Our entire economy suffers because to much money goes to banks and land speculators. Whole business sectors depend on rising land prices, not productivity!

        Spiralling land prices add to business costs, for every business that is not "farming capital gains".

        We have the recent examples of businesses failing because rents are such a high proportion of their costs. I know local businesses where commercial rents are over half their monthly bills. Commercial landlords justify that, of course, by the high valuations for the underlaying land.

        Do you really think most of our net national income going to bank owners and land speculators, is sustainable?

        • mikesh 15.1.2.1

          It is not just housing that is affected. Our entire economy suffers because to much money goes to banks and land speculators. Whole business sectors depend on rising land prices, not productivity!

          Quite right. But in blaming speculators you are putting the cart before the horse. If property prices were not rising speculators would not be interested.

          We have the recent examples of businesses failing because rents are such a high proportion of their costs. I know local businesses where commercial rents are over half their monthly bills. Commercial landlords justify that, of course, by the high valuations for the underlaying land.

          I agree that this is not a satisfactory situation. I rather like the Opportunies Party's proposal of levying a tax based on the "risk free rate of return" where properties are not being used for the purpose of obtaining taxable income. However, the problem seems to be too many people chasing a limited amount of land.

          Do you really think most of our net national income going to bank owners and land speculators, is sustainable?

          Limiting the banks' capacity for creating money would probably help.

    • dv 15.2

      The different colours are countries?

      What countries do the colours represent?

  16. pat 16

    The question of tax is both a simple and difficult one…..those with the wealth need to pay it and that is where the difficulties begin,

    We have had 3 plus decades of reduced tax take that has enabled wealth accumulation in a small portion of society and now we have little capacity to fund that which we need….and oddly (because the numbers should support it) we appear to lack the will to enact that claw back from those who have disproportionately benefited.

    If we want it then we need to fight for it…it wont be willingly given, despite the rhetoric from the Davos crowd.

    • Ad 16.1

      "Little capacity to fund what we need"?

      Government has just spent over $70 billion in 2 years over what it usually spends.

      • pat 16.1.1

        Exactly.

        • Ad 16.1.1.1

          So the government doesn't need to raise taxes, even in a crisis.

          So you're just left with the levelling argument. You would have to run an argument along the lines of: the egalitarian New Zealand was in part caused by the massive income tax levels.

          Go for it.

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    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    6 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    8 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    14 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    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
  • Bring out your Dad
    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
  • Bring out your Dad
    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
    4 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    4 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
    9 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
    11 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
    12 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
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