Posts Tagged ‘capital gains tax’

Tax or quality public services – which is more important to NZ voters?

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 pm, September 27th, 2023 - 16 comments

Earlier this year Andrew Marr wrote in the New Statesmen, that Britain’s problem was that it wanted Scandinavian levels of Public Services and North American levels of taxation. His view was that Britain was overdue for an honest debate about tax and public spending. In New Zealand, there is a similar challenge.

Labour has overseen massive inequality increase – Bernard Hickey

Written By: - Date published: 1:14 pm, January 27th, 2022 - 154 comments

The Government’s Covid 19 response, mainly via Reserve Bank measures, has enabled a mind-boggling increase in inequality, according to influential financial commentator Bernard Hickey. Covid response has saved multiple lives, but its refusal to simultaneously address inequality via taxes raises uncomfortable questions about how a leftist government has overseen a once-in-a-generation shift in wealth

Tax Working Group report depressing reading

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 pm, September 21st, 2018 - 66 comments

The Tax Working Group says the gaping holes in our tax system make it unfair and undermine its integrity, but the prospect of the electorate embracing even its limited recommendations on taxing capital gains make for depressing contemplation.

Cullen says 2020 election effectively a referendum on tax

Written By: - Date published: 1:20 pm, March 7th, 2018 - 32 comments

Don’t hold your breath for recommendations of radical tax reform from the Tax Working Group. Chair Sir Michael Cullen says the 2020 election will be a referendum on tax and he is already kicking for touch

Ardern cautious on capital gains tax

Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, August 23rd, 2017 - 146 comments

Jacinda Ardern will not campaign on a capital gains tax, but will seek advice and will not rule it out in a first term. The Nats have introduced a week form of CGT already. A more robust version needs serious consideration.

Rushed policy is bad policy

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, May 19th, 2015 - 24 comments

National’s policy opens the door to more effective capital gains tax, thus irritating investors and their base, while probably not achieving anything in practice. The worst of both worlds. Bonus question – does this policy effectively underwrite losses when the property bubble bursts? Plus another bonus John Key lie!

CGT: the focus groups made Key do it

Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, May 18th, 2015 - 39 comments

According to John Key the proposed tax on capital gains if a property is sold within two years of purchase is not a capital gains tax, there is no housing bubble in Auckland, and the proposed new tax does not represent a complete about face by the Government.

Deborah Russell: does New Zealand actually have a capital gains tax?

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, April 17th, 2015 - 65 comments

A guest post by Deborah Russell responding to Government claims that we already have a capital gains tax  on the sale of land.

A clear Cunliffe win

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 pm, September 10th, 2014 - 141 comments

David Cunliffe’s performance in tonight’s head-to-head with John Key was exactly what I wanted to see from the next Labour Prime Minister of NZ.

OECD report leans left

Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, June 5th, 2013 - 24 comments

Bill English reviews the economy

Both sides of the political spectrum will draw some comfort from the recent OECD report on our economy, but overall the report is much better aligned with Labour / Green policy.

CGT Now!

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, June 5th, 2012 - 32 comments

The “tradeable” sector is still shrinking. The property market is heating up again. We need a capital gains tax now.

Wealth creators or life-blood suckers?

Written By: - Date published: 12:40 pm, August 8th, 2011 - 38 comments

Study proves that our ‘wealth creators’ are actually bad managers. We have the natural resources. Got the skilled workforce. We’re held back by the capitalist elite. Not interested in capital investment and paying better wages. They’re just rentiers out to extract quick profits: a formula of low wages, tax cuts, and untaxed capital gains. Parasites.

Bad poll but not for CGT

Written By: - Date published: 6:29 am, July 18th, 2011 - 138 comments

The latest ONE News / Colmar Brunton poll is bad for Labour, and not great for the Left.  But it isn’t a verdict on Labour’s CGT proposal – the polling period finished before the policy was announced.

Apparently the undecided in this poll was 14%. I wonder why that was missed out of the reporting?

Key has cried wolf too often

Written By: - Date published: 7:06 am, July 13th, 2011 - 98 comments

Key used to get away with spouting whatever kind of nonsense he liked.  Not any more.  His hysterical scaremongering on the subject of capital gains tax seems to have been a step too far.  The teflon is long gone, and Key has cried wolf too often.

Friday lolz

Written By: - Date published: 5:09 pm, July 8th, 2011 - 60 comments

Even Bill’s readers like the CGT…

An outside view on CGT

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, July 8th, 2011 - 78 comments

Yesterday’s Morning Report interview with Sydney Morning Herald economics correspondent Peter Martin was a real gem.  The picture of capital gains tax that emerges is one of simplicity, fairness, and closing loopholes.  No wonder the Nats hate it.

Owning the agenda

Written By: - Date published: 6:03 am, July 7th, 2011 - 153 comments

Labour have started setting out a bold, fair and plausible policy framework for the election.  Rumours of their tax policy  have generated more interest and excitement than anything the National government has done in the last three wasted years.

There Is An Alternative

Written By: - Date published: 7:18 am, May 16th, 2011 - 66 comments

The run up to the budget has all been about cuts.  How many?  How deep?  Like lemmings we’re accepting National’s framing, and marching even faster to our economic doom.  But, there is an alternative. Instead of slashing spending, we can raise government income. Here’s how.

Fabians lecture

Written By: - Date published: 3:21 pm, May 4th, 2011 - 1 comment

“Capital Gains Tax” with Craig Elliffe and Chye-ching Huang

Venue: Owen Glenn Building, University of Auckland

Time: May 5th, 6:30 PM

Capital Fair Gains

Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, June 15th, 2010 - 17 comments

At the moment the UK is debating a rise in Capital Gains Tax, from 18% to 40 or 50%. The debate is largely going on within the ruling Tory party, as their coalition partners the Liberal Democrats won several tax concessions so that they could create a GBP10,000 income tax free band. The proposed tax rise is to treat earned and unearned income the same.

Close the loopholes

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, September 14th, 2009 - 30 comments

I am heartened that Phil Goff is trying to work with the Government to address over-investment in residential property. However, I think a capital gains tax is the wrong way to go about it. In my view, the rush to get on the rental property bandwagon is the single biggest problem facing the New Zealand […]