Seen National's Tax Policy!?

[Pixie]

Slightly off topic, but where does TVNZ exhume their 'interviewers' from?
They had Gareth Morgan from Infometrics on this morning, he gave a fairly thorough explanation of his concerns about Nationals tax cuts. Basically his concern was for inflationary pressures and the effect on interest rates.
When he finished, the interviewer said, "we can't afford it then"?
The only thing missing was the

That's why Gareth always looks slightly pissed off when he's about to be interviewed

[Pixie]

Let's drop the "Newspeak"
Instead of refering to "surpluses" let's call it what it is -excessive tax

[Biff]

Tax cuts, must be election time, and what better way to convince people to vote for you than promising the age old tax cut, and of course promise increased spending on roads, education, policing etc at the same time. Yeah right.

Come off it guys n gals - don't fall for that lame old duck. It's the oldest trick in the book.

$10 a week for 2/3 of the population for a weakened economy, increased borrowing and less investment in infrastructure & services - not for me thanks.

Tax in NZ is still below international average for a developed country, police, nurses and doctors are well paid in comparison to other countries, the economy is strong, investment in NZ continues to rise - don't fk it up by falling for cheap gimmicks.

A tax cut will only cause harm in the medium/long term - so think long term and don't chase the quick buck.

[Lou Girardin]

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...

Exactly. That's why we have shopping as recreation.
And a suicide rate the envy of the world.

[bane]

and as for winnie wanting to take GST off petrol - how about taking it off staples like bread, meat and vegetables

another case of winston picking out a hot issue and making some half arsed, populist comment...

My view is that GST is a useful tax. The simplicity of use in NZ makes GST very efficient. Australia's convoluted GST system costs far more to administer due to its complexity.
GST is fair as its a consumption tax - those on higher incomes consume more and hence pay more tax. Its also very difficult to avoid, unlike income tax.

I dont consider myself right wing, but my tax policy would be to slightly raise GST (to 15%) and make your first $20k tax free. Due to the efficiency of GST, its likely this wouldnt cost the govt one cent... Ive read that raising GST to 20% would allow the addition of a flat tax rate of ~25%, whilst still keeping the tax take around the same as now (no I cant back that up so dont ask!) .

[Ramius]

what would hitler say

Die achtbare Regierung zerstören neuen Seelands und Ihrer Leben langsam. Kommen Sie nach Deutschland und erweitern Sie sich die Zionist Weise!

[Hitcher]

Die achtbare Regierung zerstören neuen Seelands und Ihrer Leben langsam. Kommen Sie nach Deutschland und erweitern Sie sich die Zionist Weise!

Somehow I don't that's quite what Mr Hitler had in mind...

[Grumpy]

Tax cuts, must be election time, and what better way to convince people to vote for you than promising the age old tax cut, and of course promise increased spending on roads, education, policing etc at the same time. Yeah right.

Come off it guys n gals - don't fall for that lame old duck. It's the oldest trick in the book.

$10 a week for 2/3 of the population for a weakened economy, increased borrowing and less investment in infrastructure & services - not for me thanks.

Tax in NZ is still below international average for a developed country, police, nurses and doctors are well paid in comparison to other countries, the economy is strong, investment in NZ continues to rise - don't fk it up by falling for cheap gimmicks.

A tax cut will only cause harm in the medium/long term - so think long term and don't chase the quick buck.

What that man said. I wonder how many of those out there complaining about Labour are worse off now than they were 6 years ago...

[Ramius]

Somehow I don't that's quite what Mr Hitler had in mind...

I could be right about NZ, but, yes, I think you could be right about the second bit. Not quite to his liking I would say. Or should that be, it would not have been to his liking.

[Dafe]

I love Nationals Tax Policy. If you go the extra mile, you'll be paid for it.
I pull around 80G a year but thats with some long hours which I choose to put in (60hours mon-fri). I reakon at least another 4G will fall into my pocket each year under Nationals Policy.

To all those people wondering where the money is coming from???

It will infact mean that National will cut money going other places. Those places will be a strong mixture of benefits. Benefits linked to non workers & solo mothers & immigrants primarily.

But right before election time, Nationals not about to comment on that.

I don't mean to sound selfish in any way. But I would be far happier getting more of the money I earn, even knowing that certain beneficiaries will no longer be receiving the money I'm making, and even though they don't have to go to work for it. (Just give me my money so I can buy a nice sporty 600cc bike!!!)

[geoffm]

What that man said. I wonder how many of those out there complaining about Labour are worse off now than they were 6 years ago...

I am - pay packet hasn't kept up with real inflation for a long time. One of the joys of running a small business in a competitive market..
Solved that one by bailing out and changing careers, which is currently giving me even less money, but shoudl improve.
Best of all, the new skills are in demand overseas...
Geoff

[TwoSeven]

I work in the IT industy. For me, there are no unions, no inflation adjusted pay, or all that other stuff.

If I dont like a job, want better conditions, or a pay rise. I get another job and negotiate a better contract.

Labour created the employment contracts act which I think is pretty good (having had to use it a couple of times), so for that reason they do ok. National let me keep my money, which I also think is pretty good.

[TwoSeven]

Die achtbare Regierung zerstören neuen Seelands und Ihrer Leben langsam. Kommen Sie nach Deutschland und erweitern Sie sich die Zionist Weise!

Do I really live in a sea country
Maybe its already been destroyed and sank

[Hitcher]

Labour created the employment contracts act which I think is pretty good

No, Labour created the Employment Relations Act, which repealed National's Employment Contracts Act. One was a poorly thought through, though sound piece of legislation. The other is an ambiguous, ideological, sop to unions.

[Lou Girardin]

another case of winston picking out a hot issue and making some half arsed, populist comment...

My view is that GST is a useful tax. The simplicity of use in NZ makes GST very efficient. Australia's convoluted GST system costs far more to administer due to its complexity.
GST is fair as its a consumption tax - those on higher incomes consume more and hence pay more tax. Its also very difficult to avoid, unlike income tax.

I dont consider myself right wing, but my tax policy would be to slightly raise GST (to 15%) and make your first $20k tax free. Due to the efficiency of GST, its likely this wouldnt cost the govt one cent... Ive read that raising GST to 20% would allow the addition of a flat tax rate of ~25%, whilst still keeping the tax take around the same as now (no I cant back that up so dont ask!) .

It may be efficient, but it hits the poor hardest.