Seen National's Tax Policy!?

[sir.pratt]

I have to wonder if Iraena Asher would be alive today if the govt had used this money wisely. )

probably not. she was a drunk that had already been given a chance to stay safe, but chose to ignore that help. there's plenty of examples of it every weekend, more of them than you know end up in a death.

wage/salary tax cuts need to be read in conjuction with the fine print - dr's fees going up, prescriptions costing more, fuel taxes, RUC increases, beneficiary costs, etc etc. it's the hidden taxes that hurt, the obvious ones are easy to deal with by lights and mirrors.

[Quasievil]

When Labour increased the top tax rate I didn't complain because I believed that society should protect the sick, the old and the young.

What the fuck ?? how do you figure that out,

why are people so hell bent on bashing those that make an above average income, its like hit the $60 k a year workers with higher taxes and you can hear the freckin socialists and dole blungers and lazy arses shout with joy, whats that all about !!

perhaps someone could start a party in NZ and have a policy where no one can earn above $40k , you could call it the communist party of NZ ?

wankers

(later part a general comment lou )

[sir.pratt]

there is basically NO relief for a double income/2 kids/mortgage family. and as for winnie wanting to take GST off petrol - how about taking it off staples like bread, meat and vegetables - get more people onto pushbikes/scooteres/motorbikes, healthier community, less pollution, less health costs, etc etc.

i was in the servo today, and there was my bike, 2 harleys, 2 hsv's and an xr8. regardless of the fuel prices, people are going to drive/ride their big toys. make the cuts somewhere where it benefits the most

[Lou Girardin]

Go Lou
One thing that confuses me is that in the 70's we had:

• A country of the same physical size as we do now (Du-UH), with the same state highways and more railways- ie a similar infrastructure
• NZ railways with it's thousands of well paid staff doing SFA
• State Forests with thousands of well paid staff
• A free tertiary education system
• A working state owned health system
• Lower income tax
• No GST
• and only around 3 million people

and now we pay much higher taxes, we have GST, the forests and railways are pretty much owned by overseas interests and the vast majority of the old workforce has gone, we have to pay thru the nose for tertiary education, our health system is a joke, we still have roughly the same infrastructure, and there are now 4 million of us....

We are paying out more money to get less. Can anyone explain why that is? OK, I know we had massive debt, but that's pretty much gone now, right? Why are we going backwards?

Answer - Rogernomics and the New Right.
Remember Prebbles pledge to save rail? Well he did, saved it for Fay, Richwhite.
To be fair though, some things needed to be done. But we should have followed Australia's way. Not be economic lab rats for the rest of the world.
How they all applauded us at the time, didn't copy us though.

[Lou Girardin]

probably not. she was a drunk that had already been given a chance to stay safe, but chose to ignore that help. .

But she couldn't catch the cab they sent. It went to Onehunga, she was in Piha.
And she was bi-polar, not pissed. (May have been slipped some drug though)
But what the hell, just another dead loser right? Fancy calling for help and expecting to get it. Stupid tart.

BTW have another look at Labours tax relief, you should be on a winner unless you're well over $100k per year.

[Hitcher]

I think that additional taxes on people who earn over $60,000 a year is immoral on a whole number of fronts -- and not just because I earn over that figure myself. People who earn "higher incomes" already pay more tax than lower income earners because they earn more -- this would be true if there were a flat tax rate.

The Labour Party, on its much lauded pledge card, misled people about the impact of the 39 cents marginal tax rate when it claimed that no more than 5% of income earners would be affected. This was wrong at the time the card was published (it was 11% then) and the Labour Party analysts would have known this. Now over 20% of income earners fall into this category. Since then too Labour has introduced a whole range of new taxes and "user charges". I disapprove of discriminating against people because of what they may earn. Why should being good at what you do be a crime? I don't go out into the world each day to fail or be mediocre. I do it to succeed, both personally and for whomever I am employed. I don't see why I should have to be defensive or ashamed of what I earn. Punitive tax rates on higher income earners encourage this. "Egalitarian" New Zealanders need to grow up and get over themselves.

"Government" is a highly inefficient way of redistributing money. It requires a bureaucracy to do this. All of those lovely civil servants earning $60,000 a year or more, plus all of the overhead costs involved in providing them with offices, computers and phones. All having to be paid for before 1 cent of your taxes go to the needy. While more efficient than the public service in some countries, I find it hard to believe that the New Zealand public service couldn't be leaner or meaner.

[WRT]

I agree Hitcher, but then I have always believed that I am better at spending my own money than anyone else.

Helen, you can take your nanny state and shove it!

[TwoSeven]

Go Lou
One thing that confuses me is that in the 70's we had:

• A country of the same physical size as we do now (Du-UH), with the same state highways and more railways- ie a similar infrastructure
• NZ railways with it's thousands of well paid staff doing SFA
• State Forests with thousands of well paid staff
• A free tertiary education system
• A working state owned health system
• Lower income tax
• No GST
• and only around 3 million people

and now we pay much higher taxes, we have GST, the forests and railways are pretty much owned by overseas interests and the vast majority of the old workforce has gone, we have to pay thru the nose for tertiary education, our health system is a joke, we still have roughly the same infrastructure, and there are now 4 million of us....

We are paying out more money to get less. Can anyone explain why that is? OK, I know we had massive debt, but that's pretty much gone now, right? Why are we going backwards?

Nope. NZ money is only worth 1/10th of what it was worth in the 70s and NZ has less than 1/4 of the debt (as a ratio of gdp), not to mention about 500 times more choice in products available on the market.

[Ixion]

What the fuck ?? how do you figure that out,

why are people so hell bent on bashing those that make an above average income, its like hit the $60 k a year workers with higher taxes and you can hear the freckin socialists and dole blungers and lazy arses shout with joy, whats that all about !!

perhaps someone could start a party in NZ and have a policy where no one can earn above $40k , you could call it the communist party of NZ ?

wankers

(later part a general comment lou )

/me is a Communist you know. 'Tis a very GOOD policy. Give me all the money , and I will redistribute it. What's left after my "necessary expenses". And I promise you, no taxes at all. And free 1000cc motorcycles for everybody. Just vote for me. Actually, votes not necessary, democracy flows from the barrel of a gun

[badlieutenant]

comments from russell brown

[inlinefour]

or donkeys. All this is is dangling carrots in frount of us so that we'll vote for them. I for one aint that stoooopid.

[MikeL]

not to mention about 500 times more choice in products available on the market.

No you shouldn't have mentioned it.

Wow. I can choose between McDonalds and Burger King and Wendy's and...
That's the great thing about the consumer society. Freedom of choice. With freedom of choice our society is truly democratic. And people are fulfilled because their needs are satisfied and their lives are made wonderfully rich by the range and variety of new products...
And the producers and the marketers make sure we're never bored or at a loss for something to fill in those empty spaces in our lives, because if we did stop consuming we might have time to start thinking...

[TwoSeven]

or donkeys. All this is is dangling carrots in frount of us so that we'll vote for them. I for one aint that stoooopid.

Sometimes with NZ politics I get the feeling that they are often dangling the donkey in front of the carrot, in the vain hope that the carrot might move

[Pixie]

Just checked out Labours carrot.
It's official- my wife and I would be better off seperating and taking one kid each. We get nothing if we're together, but about $100 a week each if we split up. If we had another kid we'd only get about $45 a week between us.
So once again a govt policy that discourages 2 parent families will probably go ahead

My biggest gripe with the money that Labour have "found" is that they clearly knew they had it all along. They've "discovered" it so they can use it as an election bribe. While they've been sitting on this money, how many people suffered or even died waiting for surgery? How many people suffered because there aren't enough cops on the beat? How much money did the economy loose due to poor roading? And why did we need the extra tax on our petrol?

Let's put the record straight,Labour have been perfectly honest about their budget.When they said there is not money available for tax cuts,the surplus was already allocated,it was the truth.
It was in the "bribes for the election account"

[Pixie]

comments from russell brown

I was expecting backing music on Bown's site ;"my bleedy,bleedy heart"