Petition on tax dodging

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, May 12th, 2016 - 50 comments
Categories: activism, labour, tax - Tags: , , ,

Labour has set up a petition:

Demand action on tax dodging

Big multinational corporations are exploiting our weak tax laws to shift the profits they make in New Zealand offshore and avoid paying their fair share of tax here. The Tax Justice Network estimate New Zealand could be missing out on up to $7 billion a year as a result.

And the release of the Panama Papers shows that New Zealand has become a tax haven for the world’s mega-rich to hide billions of dollars here.

National is refusing to act to stop this — despite mounting pressure for a full inquiry into tax dodging in New Zealand.

We’ll deliver this petition to Parliament where a Select Committee will consider it. The more of us who sign the petition, the more likely it is the Select Committee will launch an urgent inquiry.

Will you sign the petition?

50 comments on “Petition on tax dodging ”

  1. Draco T Bastard 1

    Almost 30000 signatures so far.

    So much for the RWNJs attempts to down play this.

    • Chooky 1.1

      +100…yes I have noted the right wingers here have been spinning like dervishes to play the whole corporate and shady tax dodging scandal down…well it isn’t working

      …it needs to be opened up fully….jonkey nactional needs to be called to account

      …otherwise civil society is undermined if only the poorest are paying taxes while the wealthy get away with tax avoidance…social contract and government is undermined

      For political philosopher Thomas Hobbes social contract and its adherence (respect for it) is fundamental to any civil society …otherwise social chaos will result:

      http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Thomas_Hobbes

      “…Hobbes wrote that chaos or civil war – situations identified with a state of nature and the famous motto Bellum omnium contra omnes (“the war of all against all”) – could only be averted by strong central government. He thus denied any right of rebellion toward the social contract, which would be later added by John Locke and retained by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. However, Hobbes did discuss the possible dissolution of the State. As the social contract was made to institute a state that would provide for the “peace and defence” of the people, the contract would become void if the government no longer protected its citizens. In such a case, man would automatically return to a state of nature until the creation of a new social contract….

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_(book)

      “…Hobbes believed that equal justice includes the equal imposition of taxes. The equality of taxes doesn’t depend on equality of wealth, but on the equality of the debt that every man owes to the commonwealth for his defence and the maintenance of the rule of law.[9] Hobbes also supported public support for those unable to maintain themselves by labour, which would presumably be funded by taxation…”

  2. Richard@Down South 2

    Signed 🙂

    • Reddelusion 2.1

      Did not sign along with another 3 or so million above voting age 😀

      • Richard McGrath 2.1.1

        So multinational corporations that claim legal deductions from their revenue are “dodging” tax – good God, I deduct everything I can from my taxable income, who wouldn’t? Do no Labour Party MPs claim any deductions on their tax, or are some of them “tax dodgers” as well?

        • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1.1.1

          I say let the IRD look wherever it wants to, and when the PM cancels the inquiry, note that it looks suspicious and wonder what the motive could possibly be, especially where there’s money laundering involved.

  3. Ralf Crown 3

    This is not correct. The money is not earned in New Zealand and the money is not hidden in New Zealand. What they are doing is protecting the earnings from rouge and predatory governments and criminals around the world who wants to confiscate it. Banking in New Zealand is far too unsafe. It is just the owner of the money that is made safe and hidden by the trust. Only the trust knows who the real owner is. This is a typical way to lie to the public and mislead people.

    • Gabby 3.1

      0% tax rate is just an unlooked for bonus.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.2

      What they are doing is protecting the earnings from rouge and predatory governments and criminals around the world who wants to confiscate it.

      Dude, they are the criminals.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 3.3

      I expect predatory governments are a problem; there are enough places on Earth where the rule of law doesn’t apply (looking at you, Grass Mud Horse Covering The Centre).

      Is that a reason to prevent Police and/or Inland Revenue looking into the finances of terrorists and drug dealers and slavers and rapists and tories?

  4. Jack Ramaka 4

    Doubt you will get any uptake by this National Government ?

  5. indiana 5

    Who are the Tax Justice Network?

    • McFlock 5.1

      probably.
      They shouldn’t. What would you suggest NZ do to address that situation?

  6. Tory 6

    Rather ironic that the current Labour Chief of Staff was leader of the Unite Union that was instrumental in one of the larger tax dodges. Was the petition Matts idea of has he gone on holiday?

  7. Tory 7

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10740987
    Unite dodged paying taxes, if that was a National Party action readers in this site would be apoplectic and screaming for a crucifixion

    • One Anonymous Bloke 7.1

      Right wing readers have been screaming about it for the last five years, who can get a word in edgeways?
      Meanwhile, our tax and trust laws are tailor made for money laundering and tax fraud and you’re defending that, crim-cuddler.

      • Chuck 7.1.1

        In other words nothing to see here, Matt is one of us!

        Sad really…it invalidates most arguments the “left” try to put up to NZers.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 7.1.1.1

          No, in other words it seems to me as though the IRD is all over Matt, and yet when they want to have a squizz at Mr. Morally Whitney, John’s on the case and IRD meets a brick wall.

          Raise the double standard, crim-cuddler.

          • WILD KATIPO 7.1.1.1.1

            HAHAHAHAHA!!!

            ‘ Crim Cuddler’…. that says it all about these right wing fanatics !!!

            ‘Crim Cuddler’…. L0L !!!!

          • Chuck 7.1.1.1.2

            IRD were all over Matt because he decided to use money due to pay tax’s for other purposes. In other words he just did not decide to evade / dodge his tax, he flatly stole from the tax payers of NZ.

            Since you have raised the “double standard” having as your chief of staff a person who has “failed to pay his tax’s” help ran a campaign on tax dodging is just pure comedy gold.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 7.1.1.1.2.1

              My chief of staff? I’m a Green voter. Are you one of those inattentive lazy ignorati who think this is a Labour Party blog? Sharpen up.

              Why are you defending pedo-cash washers? It’s because you only have one thing to say: “I agree with the Prime Minister”. Lazy, inattentive, and utterly devoid of independent thought.

              • Chuck

                Keep up OAB…as this is a Labour party petition (dodge tax), the YOUR relates to the Labour party…not you.

                “Since you have raised the “double standard” having as your chief of staff a person who has “failed to pay his tax’s” help ran a campaign on tax dodging is just pure comedy gold.”

                • One Anonymous Bloke

                  You can’t answer the basic charge though: IRD goes after McCarten, no-one interferes, and when they try to go after Mr. Morally Whitney, John cancels the inquiry.

                  And there is your double standard: one law for unions, another law for paedophiles and terrorists.

                  • Chuck

                    “You can’t answer the basic charge though”

                    Because OAB your basic charge…is total bollocks.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      How can we tell? John stopped the inquiry. If Morally Whitney’s got nothing to hide why is he so defensive?

            • Richard McGrath 7.1.1.1.2.2

              I applaud Matt McCarten, who made the IRD wait for years before they could receive the Unite workers’ money that Matt was obliged to steal from their pay packets.

            • Richard McGrath 7.1.1.1.2.3

              The IRD have treated McCarten with kid gloves, whereas they have driven other individual New Zealanders such as Ian Mutton (and later his 13 year old son) to suicide:

              http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10803802

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                My experience with the IRD is that (rightly or wrongly) they treat people differently depending on their perception of the individual, and whether they are out to cheat the system or not.

                Woe betide if they form the impression you are in the latter category – unless of course you can get your mate the Prime Minister to cancel the inquiry.

  8. Tory 8

    https://www.business.govt.nz/companies/app/service/services/documents/40EF6CFB9CA0ABC1D6C301C2A720D05F
    It was listed as “Failure to Provide for Taxation” and I consider that is tax evasion.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1

      Who cares what you consider, when your words reveal you to be just another crim-cuddling pedo-money laundering Wormtongue.

      Why are you defending these people?

      • Reddelusion 8.1.1

        Why do you write such nonsense and in riddles for an obvious intelligent but anonymous bloke 😀

        • McFlock 8.1.1.1

          If you think it’s a bunch of riddles, you obviously failed to understand it.
          If you failed to understand it, how do you know it’s nonsense?
          If it’s nonsense, how can it be a lot of riddles?

          • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1.1.1.1

            😆

            Elegant.

            • Richard McGrath 8.1.1.1.1.1

              I note you don’t address the assertion that McCarten evaded tax. You just let fly with abusive, defamatory bile.

              • McFlock

                Oh, now it’s tax evasion you guys are accusing him of?

                Not embezzlement (“Matt was obliged to steal from their pay packets”) or tax avoidance and whatever “deliberate failure to pay” counts as (credit by false pretences, maybe)?

                That’s a fuckload of criminal (and one case of ‘it’s ok coz it’s legal tax minimisation’) offending you’ve managed to extrapolate from a single, repeatedly-parroted news article.

                Lol, and you’ve got the complete lack of self-perception to accuse OAB of defamation?

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                Richard McNumpty, I haven’t challenged the assertion because the assertion brings nothing to the table other than “he did it too”.

                Let’s say it’s all true, and he eats babies to boot.

                Did the PM have the investigation into his diet cancelled?

  9. Tory 9

    “It’s always the ones with the dirty hands pointing the finger” , got to love the hypocrisy of the left.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 9.1

      Your pointing the finger at Matt McCarten indicates that your hands are dirty? Or your logical incompetence indicates that you’re a little bit shit at spotting hypocrisy?

      You just likened owing the tax man to washing terrorist and pedo cash.

      Way to embody everything the National Party represents.

  10. These Reddelusion and Tory characters sound like the type who would sagely lecture their kids about the philanthropic aspects of why we should donate to charity’s in Africa after watching a program on TV with small children with pot bellies and fly’s crawling all over their mouths and then emphasize the greater points of it being tax deductible …

    And then go on to say in the next breath that the 18 TRILLION DOLLARS of global wealth in the form of unpaid taxes and laundered money hidden in offshore tax havens has nothing to do at all with global poverty , deaths from lack of medical supply’s , research and development plans…

    Whilst sitting near the fire with a picture of John Key on the mantle piece…

    C R I M C U D D L E R ‘S ! -18 T R I LL I O N D O LL A R S = ( > ) TOTAL WEALTH OF U S A

    • Chooky 10.1

      +100

    • Tory 10.2

      You will be no doubt pleased then to see that some of the 18 Trillion Dollars might be recovered from your left comrades in the Workers Party of Brazil.
      http://www.theguardian.com/world/dilma-rousseff

      • WILD KATIPO 10.2.1

        But you still seem to support inadequate disclosure laws, zero tax requirements and even less tax benefits to this country as a way to enforce compliance because its happened under your idol Keys watch , do you not ?…else why the constant resistance …

        Tell me… would you have been quite so sanctimonious if it had been a PM from the Left who had quietly ignored the effective creation of a tax haven after having been warned 7 times?

        Key… who said on record he wanted to create a Jersey banking system of the south pacific… and yet needed the hot poker of the Panama Papers up his arse before the voting population of this country even got to be made aware of the issue…

        Is that how you right wing fanatics like to roll?…. hiding in the dark praying until the sweat trickles down your foreheads that no one will shine a light on you?

        Certainly seems like it…

        And…as many of us have stated… this is not an issue of the Left or the Right. But it certainly is an issue for all and any politicians who seemed to have enabled it and kept quiet about it…

      • joe90 10.2.3

        A national pastime.

        There are no precedents for any of this; there is only a national mood of bewildered anxiety. Will the police interrogations be extended to the President herself? Will she resign, or be forced out? And if so – who takes over? (The Vice-President is implicated in one of the legal processes targeting the President. The third in line, the lower-house Speaker, was ordered on Thursday by the Supreme Court to stand trial on charges related to the scandal. No. 4 is the President of the Senate, who is, yes, also under investigation).

        https://twitter.com/alexleff/status/706945503460782081

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