Posts Tagged ‘tax’

Netflix tax – another one for you peasants

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, April 11th, 2016 - 20 comments

While Key is fighting to make sure our country remains a haven for his rich mates, he’s about to hit you and I with yet another tax. I don’t have a problem with taxes, but I do take issue with the hypocrisy.

A Song from John (All your questions answered)

Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, April 8th, 2016 - 4 comments

Okay. So rumoour has it that John was merely a co-writer.

UK sugar tax

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, March 17th, 2016 - 27 comments

The UK has done the sensible thing for public health and introduced “a new tax on sugary drinks”. The Herald asks: UK sugar tax – could NZ be next?

NRT: Facilitating tax cheats

Written By: - Date published: 4:25 pm, July 20th, 2015 - 15 comments

I/S at No Right Turn on a reported rush in demand ahead of new rules for real estate transactions aimed at cracking down on tax cheats and speculators.

UK Labour to crack down on tax cheats

Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, April 12th, 2015 - 21 comments

UK Labour have promised “all-out war on tax avoidance and evasion”. NZ Labour should follow suit.

Inequality – two excellent pieces

Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, December 14th, 2014 - 65 comments

Inequality has been very much in the news recently. Friday saw the publication of two really excellent pieces that between them provide a comprehensive, if depressing overview.

Polity: OECD on inequality and growth

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, December 10th, 2014 - 33 comments

Rob Salmond notes the OECD report saying the West – and New Zealand more than any – have had their growth held back by income inequality. Do we have a government willing to do anything about it?

Polity: What tax would Warren Buffet pay in New Zealand?

Written By: - Date published: 1:58 pm, June 26th, 2014 - 14 comments

With the ritual whining from the right about our tax rates in New Zealand now that Labour given aspects of their alternative budget, it pays to consider what the real tax rates for the wealthy here are. Because of our lack of a capital gains tax, we are in the strange position where we would tax a wealthy investor like Warren Buffet a lot less than he is in the USA. Thats outrageous.

NRT: Inequality is bad for growth

Written By: - Date published: 2:44 pm, March 4th, 2014 - 7 comments

No Right Turn succinctly points out the impact of the International Monetary Fund changing its mind on the adverse effects of inequality in the economic sphere. A case of an accumulation of facts overriding dumb ideology.

Gini: A Measure of Inequality

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, February 25th, 2014 - 14 comments

In my previous post on how a UBI would address inequality,  it turns out I figured out something that is already known as a measure of inequality called the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve. A lower Gini coefficient is better and represents a more equal society. It is a recognised way of measuring and comparing inequality between countries, changes in equality overtime and for the effects of taxation proposals.  Looking at it for NZ shows the effects of the last 30 years of neoliberal “reform”.

The benefit fraud card

Written By: - Date published: 2:21 pm, July 18th, 2013 - 107 comments

tax evasion vs benefit fraud

Dithering Nats

Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, April 1st, 2013 - 49 comments

Changes to the tax rules that kick in today reverse two decisions made earlier by the government. Dither dither dither.

Dumping on Dunne’s taxes

Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, March 20th, 2013 - 13 comments

The Nats are in trouble with their budget deficits and looking to raise money via increased taxes. But they are tinkering at the edges of the problem, and were quick to chuck Peter Dunne under the bus when the latest proposals didn’t fly.

Brilliant policy

Written By: - Date published: 1:27 pm, March 2nd, 2013 - 47 comments

I’ve got to stay that I stand in awe of this latest tax policy suggestion from the IRD. Simple, fair, easy to implement, it will be wildly popular. I think the Nats should adopt it at once.

The fiscal hole

Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, January 31st, 2013 - 47 comments

David Parker has drawn attention to a steadily growing $1 Billion hole in projected tax income. That gap, and the stalled economy which underlies the problem, are not going to be fixed by John Key acting like an angry chimp in parliament, flinging insults out of his cage.

NRT: Taking on our local tax cheats

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, November 30th, 2012 - 26 comments

I/S at No Right Turn asks why the government is letting rich multinational companies get away with exploiting tax loopholes.  Here’s an idea – close the loopholes and spend the revenue on schools.

Herald promotes cheating and tax evasion

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, October 8th, 2012 - 223 comments

I was surprised this weekend to see The Herald come out with a strongly stated piece in favour of cheating and tax evasion.

Taxing the super-rich

Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, June 18th, 2012 - 21 comments

The Nats like bang on about benefit fraud, are they just as keen to go after tax evasion by the super-rich?

English on the economic turmoil

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, September 23rd, 2011 - 53 comments

As most of the headlines this morning focus on the crumbling world economy, it was interesting to hear Bill English on RNZ.  Among various inane comments there was one interesting gem, when English called for higher taxes…

Tax Working Groupthink

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

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

“An indecent assault on numeracy”

Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, May 14th, 2009 - Comments Off on “An indecent assault on numeracy”

Over at Public Address Keith Ng has a great post up on Labour and National’s tax regimes. Pretty graphs, accessible analysis and a DPF slap-down – what more could you ask for?

Who’s zooming who?

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, April 5th, 2009 - 27 comments

The Herald reports: Last week John Key used poor United States sales of the new BMW 7-series – 10 were sold in February, compared with more than 1500 in the same 2008 month – as an example of how much other countries were hurting in the economic crisis. But New Zealand…  sales of the top-of-the-line […]

Running the lines

Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, March 2nd, 2009 - 2 comments

No surprise to see The Herald editorial still running National’s lines. Now that Key’s equivocating on National’s planned tax cuts Granny’s right in behind him – despite their previous convictions. From October last year, an editorial from The Herald titled Overdue, but tax cuts timely: If [the tax cuts are] viewed widely as overdue and […]

Even Granny’s patience can wear thin

Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, May 26th, 2008 - 42 comments

With a loving smack that would have brought a smile to Bob McCoskrie’s face, the Herald‘s editorial today rebukes John Key in the strongest terms it can. Now that the Budget is behind us, the National Party has less excuse for indecision on most of the important economic issues facing the country at the coming […]

Commentators on the Budget

Written By: - Date published: 4:30 pm, May 22nd, 2008 - 36 comments

From John Armstrong in The Herald: Is it enough? Michael Cullen has given it his best shot. He has been about as generous as he could be. He and his Labour colleagues will not die wondering what might have been had the Finance minister’s tax cuts been bolder. He could not have been bolder without […]

On the distribution of income

Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, May 20th, 2008 - 62 comments

See that line that says minimum wage? Nearly half of kiwis earn less than that. Seven months ago, that was me. I was working removing asbestos contaminated glue from the floor of an office building along with half a dozen other guys. Now, asbestos is pretty dangerous stuff, inhaling a single thread of it can […]

ACT: tax cuts for the rich, please

Written By: - Date published: 3:34 pm, May 13th, 2008 - 139 comments

Rodney Hide is calling for the Budget’s tax cuts to take the form of raising the thresholds to account for inflation since 1999, removing of the 39 cent bracket, and a $10,000 tax-free bracket. What would ACT’s tax cuts entail for New Zealanders? Hide says the average cut would be $50 a week, so we […]

Put it on the kids’ tab

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, April 29th, 2008 - 6 comments

Some may have noted an odd series of questions in Parliament and press releases from Bill English around government borrowing over the last month. The questions purposely conflated the idea of maintaining current debt levels with increasing debt. We noted this at the time and Tane correctly picked the strategy: First, sow confusion about debt […]

7 reasons why cutting GST on food will not help

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, April 29th, 2008 - 30 comments

Scrapping GST is a classic, populist issue that sounds delicious in times of high food prices but at closer inspection – it doesn’t taste good at all and isn’t the best way to help those struggling to buy food. The cost of food and fuel has dominated the media over the long weekend and there […]

Dunne: feathering his own nest

Written By: - Date published: 12:40 pm, April 28th, 2008 - 12 comments

Peter Dunne is once again touting his plans to introduce income splitting. It’s a policy aimed at helping out the wealthy. New Zealand Institute of Economic Research senior economist Patrick Nolan tells us that “80% of the tax gains of income-splitting would go to the top 20% of taxpayers”. Dunne was reportedly “not bothered” by […]

I’ve got a solution, what’s the problem?

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, April 23rd, 2008 - 38 comments

The junior doctors’ strike is a difficult issue. On the one hand, these are highly valuable workers whom we can’t afford to lose overseas and they do work long hours in difficult conditions. On the other hand, the pay rise they want would cost $50 million and is well above what other medical professionals have […]

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