How sad is this Labour Government

[What?]

I would like to see discretionary tax, that is - pay tax when you spend (so you pay tax, but get to choose how its paid), with a very minimal pay as you earn (to cover essential services)

Sort of like Monaco? They have no income tax at all, but HUGE sales tax. The downside is, all the rsidents are indecently wealthy, so we have no example of how that system would work in a country like ours. Nice idea, though...

[scumdog]

As is PAYE. Of course rates are a tax! Get a dictionary and look up the meaning of "tax".
And a tax on a tax is very strange, though not unusual. Look around and you will find numerous instances of it in NZ.

It always irks me to think that at best 24% PAYE plus 12.5%GST = 36.5% BEFORE you pay rates and other faux taxes, for those in a higher tax-bracket I suppose the level is up to 45.5%!!!!!

[TwoSeven]

For me last year is was.

39%
12.5%
------
51% on nearly half may pay.

Not good.

No wonder all the younguns bugger off. No point in working for nothing when you have a huge debt to pay off.

What pisses me off tho, is that I did a 6 month contract which paid a high rate of tax and also sorted out all my debts. The contract was terminated due to a change in the company and Winz give me a 6 month stand down because I earned over a certain amount.

They dont means test or ask for proof of what you did with the money (I had all the bill receipts and loan repayments as proof). You can starve to death for all they care.

you'd think if you pay for a service you should have a right to use it now and again. Not with this government.

Its not like I still had any money (all my debts were paid). So I had to live for 6 months with no income accruing debts again before I became a student and got student allowance.

Thats what annoys me with this government - the micro-manage everything and carefully craft ways of ripping you off. All their little micro taxes and indirect taxes have put the price of everything up.

Exactly what does the government do with all that money.

[Blakamin]

Exactly what does the government do with all that money.

They make a profit, then tell everybody, then give themselves a raise and.....
bugger it, i'm not going there.

when I got here from Oz last, I couldnt belive how crap minimum wage still was.

And this is meant to be a *labour* government???

[manuboy]

They'll be worse yet when the buggers cotton on to our increased GV. It went up by 40%. I expect to be paying about 3200 soon.

Fa-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark!

I'm gonna stop complaining as well. By my calculations the council should already have installed a spa-pool on your back lawn, and probably provided you a gardner, butler and cook...

thats crazy money jim .... ever considered a mobile home????

[riffer]

For me last year is was.

39%
12.5%
------
51% on nearly half may pay.

... Exactly what does the government do with all that money.

I can remember my grandfather paying 64% tax on what he earned. And that was back when you paid 64% of EVERYTHING you earned, not just on what he earned over a certain amount. And that was under Rob Muldoon's National government.

And George Harrison "If 5% appears too small, be thankful I don't take it all..." (Taxman, Revolver - The Beatles)

Tax is a fact of life.

As for what they do with it. Read the budget. It tells you what they do with it. And don't forget that massive surplus they're building up for next year when they bribe their way back in to power again. Don't think they won't.

[James Deuce]

Fa-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark!

I'm gonna stop complaining as well. By my calculations the council should already have installed a spa-pool on your back lawn, and probably provided you a gardner, butler and cook...

thats crazy money jim .... ever considered a mobile home????

Get up here and run for council!!! That's a plan worth voting for.

It's not like the house is worth a huge amount either. It's about 20k under the average Wellington price. I am considering heading overseas either when I finish my degree, or to finish my degree if Vic doesn't hire decent lecturers to replace the ones they've let go.

[riffer]

Get up here and run for council!!! That's a plan worth voting for.

One of my old mates, Steve Cochrane, is up for council, so I'll be voting for him, so problem solved for me. Incidentally, he's a drummer too. You might just know him Jim - he was in Wall of Surf and Wazzo Ghoti for a while.

[MikeL]

So all you people moaning about paying too much tax - tell us what you think would be a reasonable amount to pay.

And then sit down and work out how much extra you will have to fork out to pay privately for the health care, education, public amenities and everything else that can't be funded any longer from the much reduced government coffers.

[Blakamin]

And then sit down and work out how much extra you will have to fork out to pay privately for the health care, education, public amenities .

Been to any of those place lately???? my cousin went to hospital a month ago and they sent him home. not enuff time for his op. then they ring him 2 days later and say he's been pushed back for not turning up.

geez what a good job they're doing there!

schools? by the time my daughters old enough to go, I WILL be paying!

and I'm not even going near public amenities... they're probably locked anyway

[ManDownUnder]

... I want the McGillicuddy Serious Party back, the one political party the really addressed my concerns.

Lou - you're barking mad - I love it!

My favourite was the McGillicuddy's going for votes with a platform of building the wall between upper and lower hutt "to prevent the invasion".

MDU

[ManDownUnder]

So all you people moaning about paying too much tax - tell us what you think would be a reasonable amount to pay.

And then sit down and work out how much extra you will have to fork out to pay privately for the health care, education, public amenities and everything else that can't be funded any longer from the much reduced government coffers.

Mike - I'd happily do that knowing that I am much better manager of that money than Central Govt. could EVER be.

[manuboy]

and I'm not even going near public amenities... they're probably locked anyway

[ManDownUnder]

W're meant to be in a system of user pays right... and the way I look at it - I pay enough tax for 3 or 4 unemployed people.. soooo....

I wanna use 'em!

Paint the house, chop the wood... all those things I don't have time for personally...

Just don't touch the bike, the wife or the kids...

[James Deuce]

So all you people moaning about paying too much tax - tell us what you think would be a reasonable amount to pay.

And then sit down and work out how much extra you will have to fork out to pay privately for the health care, education, public amenities and everything else that can't be funded any longer from the much reduced government coffers.

I already have to pay for health care. If I need surgical intervention and I didn't have Southern Cross I wouldn't get seen for a minimum of 2 years in the public system. We wouldn't have children if we didn't pay for Southern Cross and Fertility Associates, or two overseas trips to see specialists in the UK. I'm NOT rich. I'm up to my eyeballs in debt. The Government has a huge surplus that they are not plowing back into the country. I will also be paying for education for my children, and have used private kindergartens in preference to public ones. My choice and I pay for it.

I would happily pay the same PAYE as Norway IF we got the same services as them. They pay 53% income tax. They get cradle to grave health care (including dental) and education, though if they study at an overseas tertiary institution and then stay in that country they have to pay back the loan they got to study there. Sounds great to me. They also get 4 weeks annual leave and 10 sick days. There are Government owned time share holiday homes that anyone can ballot for, and solo parents are actually looked after with a priority on making sure that the children get all they require, rather than demanding that parents work as soon as possible and that they live below the poverty line. The problem is not how much tax we pay. It is the nickel and dime approach to removing money from tax payers and the ever reducing level of services offered in return, despite the current government actually growing in size in terms of employeees and "services".