An array of government measures including better insulation on rental properties, the end of negative gearing for property investors, and the potential introduction of a capital gains tax may force a mass rental stock sell-off, warns property management consultant David Faulkner. We’ve all seen the headlines. Teachers forced to bunk in with their bosses; over … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tax Working Group puts environment taxes on the agenda, social worker registration bill questioned, and DHBs bleeding red ink. Sound the clickbait klaxon, because today’s Bulletin is all about tax policy. We’ll get to everyone’s favourite political football – the Capital Gains Tax – a bit further … Read more
Employee subsidies for public transport, less tax on KiwiSaver: There are some gems in the government’s latest tax report other than the capital gains distraction, writes tax expert Terry Baucher. For over 50 years a variety of tax working groups have pondered the greatest philosophical question in New Zealand tax: Should we tax all capital … Read more
Simon Bridges said the Government Tax Working Group’s call for a capital gains tax was an ‘assault on the Kiwi way of life’. That betrays a very depressing and limited view of the Kiwi way of life, says Hayden Donnell. The ink had barely dried on the Tax Working Group report and Simon Bridges was … Read more
New environmental taxes get the thumbs up, but commentators are as divided as ever on the thorny issue of a capital gains tax. The report is out, and as expected the government’s Tax Working Group (TWG) has recommended introducing a broad-based capital gains tax (CGT). While the social justice community applauds the move, business groups … Read more
‘A mangy dog’, ‘an assault on the Kiwi way of life’ and ‘yesterday’s cold porridge’: Business groups and opposition politicians are less than flattering about the proposed new tax. The business community is unsurprisingly less than impressed that the Tax Working Group (TWG) has recommended by a majority of eight to three that New Zealand … Read more
The Tax Working Group’s recommendations on changes to the New Zealand tax system have just been released. These are the main recommendations, according to RNZ. Tax the capital gain on sale of land, shares, business assets, intangible assets such as intellectual property. Tax to be imposed when the asset is sold, and levied at the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: More defections shake British politics, massive hole in NZ’s biosecurity defences revealed, and Privacy Commissioner makes intervention in self-ID debate. We’re going international today, because there have been hugely significant developments in British politics overnight. The established party system in Britain is imploding, with MPs from both … Read more
Property owners learn their fate on Thursday with the Tax Working Group‘s big reveal on capital capital gains tax. But whatever happens, it won’t be the housing panacea Generation Rent is hoping for, warns TOP’s Geoff Simmons. Here’s a message for young people who don’t yet own a home. In the coming months you will … Read more
Jesse Mulligan walks us through some of the spittle-flecked feedback he received for making the case that a capital gains tax is obviously a good and necessary idea. What is it like to be a woman? I don’t know, but they tell me it involves a lot of being corrected, patronised and explained to by … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government gets timely economic figures boost, Whaitiri’s ministerial career is over, and tax working group hedges bets on capital gains. Sometimes the news just comes at you fast, and yesterday was one of those days. For the government, some of it was the best of times, and … Read more
Will the latest review of our tax system be another instance of New Zealand dancing around a capital gains tax? Tax specialist Terry Baucher investigates. The news that the Tax Working Group’s interim report due out very shortly won’t specifically recommend a capital gains tax (CGT) begs the question: Is this the fifth such group … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: SIS connection to spy firm Thompson and Clark probed, effect of capital gains tax debated, and yet another small town bank closing down. The SIS is internally investigating concerns around bias towards security firm Thompson and Clark, reports Radio NZ. The concerns relate to emails, uncovered under … Read more
Budget 2018: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a tax, says Grant Thornton’s Dan Lowe. Budget day is fast approaching and the predictions are coming thick and fast. Many will be watching with keen interest, not just because it’ll be Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s first budget since being … Read more
If tax is love then New Zealand needs to show a lot more affection, writes Max Harris. The Spinoff is hosting Tax Heroes – a series covering tax, who pays it and what it means. Click here to read more. Love is a deep warmth that we direct towards other things. It’s a value we … Read more
No capital gains tax no problem? Not exactly – Tax Heroes has uncovered our biggest property players pay a much lower tax rate, Maria Slade reports. Whether New Zealand should introduce a capital gains tax is set to be almost as hot a topic in Labour’s first term as the prime minister’s pregnancy. While debate … Read more
The Spinoff Cheat Sheet: a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, what is the Tax Working Group anyway – and what is it up to? The Spinoff is hosting Tax Heroes – a series covering tax, who pays it and what it means. Click here to read more. Before all … Read more
Just how hard is it to win an election and successfully lead a government? Seems easy enough, but there’s only one way to find out for sure: simulate it in a computer game. This was originally published on September 1. No actual politics game measures up to the ideal politics game for which I yearn. … Read more
The Block NZ signifies everything that’s wrong with our tax system. Takapuna tax expert Terry Baucher fills Rebecca Stevenson in on how we can get a lump of cash, and keep it all to ourselves. This post was first published on September 19, 2017. After we all recovered from the horror that was The Block … Read more
Any political party wanting a fairer, more productive New Zealand needs to address the issue of the taxation of capital, argues Terry Baucher. This story was originally published on interest.co.nz. Earlier this week, interest.co.nz editor Gareth Vaughan asked me whether a New Zealand political party could ever sell the idea of a capital gains tax … Read more
The Block NZ signifies everything that’s wrong with our tax system. Takapuna tax expert Terry Baucher fills Rebecca Stevenson in on how we can get a lump of cash, and keep it all to ourselves. After we all recovered from the horror that was The Block NZ finale, it’s a good time to learn why … Read more
Just how hard is it to win an election and successfully lead a government? Seems easy enough, but there’s only one way to find out for sure: simulate it in a computer game. No actual politics game measures up to the ideal politics game for which I yearn. What I want is basically a straight … Read more
Jacinda Ardern has outsourced Labour’s decision on a capital gains tax to a working group. But why? It’s time we stopped treating tax working groups as the magical solution to problems in the tax system, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw. Melchett: Field Marshal Haig has formulated a brilliant new tactical plan. Blackadder: Ah. Would this brilliant plan involve us … Read more