Today we launch Tax Heroes, a project created in partnership with the IRD which aims to ‘invert the rich list’, and instead focus on the entities that contribute the most to New Zealand. Duncan Greive explains what it’s all about. Every July for 32 years the National Business Review has published its ‘Rich List’, a … 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
The government yesterday introduced a new winter energy payment for everyone over 65, no matter how well off they are. If Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson are serious about alleviating hardship in New Zealand, this is the very last group they should be splashing cash on, argues Eric Crampton. According to every existing assessment of … Read more
The World Bank estimates New Zealand’s hidden economy at more than $20 billion. Michelle Duff meets the IRD investigators chasing down the cash. This is the first in a series on the heroes and villains of tax. Illustration by Toby Morris. When investigators arrived at the Auckland couple’s expansive property, it was a suburban sort … Read more
The government has announced an increase in the minimum wage, but tax consultant Terry Baucher says a shift in tax brackets might make us all better off. In response to our low wage economy the new government has committed to raising the minimum wage from $16.50 an hour progressively to $20.21 per hour by 2020. Aside … Read more
Last week Labour announced that all online purchases would – finally – incur GST. Then, almost immediately, they backed the hell away. Duncan Greive explains why they were right first time. Last week, Stuart Nash finally told New Zealand retailers what they’ve been wanting to hear for years: that this government would “absolutely” introduce GST … Read more
Imagine having money or assets and not having to pay tax on them! Sounds like a dream right? But for the super wealthy, it can be very real. Rebecca Stevenson takes a dive into the muddy waters of offshore trusts. How is it that a Russian bank which collapsed owing billions was registered to a … 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
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
We continue serialising an epic essay from the New Zealand Initiative’s Eric Crampton, exploring what life is like in and out of New Zealand. Today: chapters three and four, covering tax and airport security. Read chapters one and two here. Chapter 3: A sense of proportion: The tax system “He’s spending a year dead for tax … Read more
Incensed by the government’s absence from a conference on a proposed sugar tax, this week celebrity chef Jamie Oliver got stuck into the National Party. Watch the video below. The Essex TV chef campaigned for a sugar tax on soft drinks in the UK and the levy is set to be introduced in 2018. A group … Read more
Budget 2017: We invited Eric Crampton to make the argument for a tax cut. Here he offers the case for a modest cut to reflect inflation, the case for a more substantial cut, and, for good measure, a dumb case Read all our Budget 2017 coverage here. There are a lot of dumb cases for … Read more
When Morgan Godfery saw the advertisement for a communications and engagement assistant vacancy at the Taxpayers’ Union he immediately started scrawling an application in his own union-clotted blood. Here we exclusively publish Godfery’s emotional plea. To whom it may concern, As an aspiring middle-aged white man, I’m the perfect candidate for the job. As communications and engagement assistant, I’ll “fight the good fight”. … Read more
You could be forgiven for thinking support for a Universal Basic Income comes only from Gareth Morgan and the more radical parts of the left. But as financial adviser Michael Warrington points out, the UBI has a lot to recommend it whatever your political outlook. Gareth Morgan’s proposals around tax and the Universal Basic Income (UBI) … Read more
You wouldn’t trust an economist to give you a smear test. So is it reasonable to expect those working in health to grasp economics? But still we listen to sugar tax proponents who don’t understand how consumer taxes work, says the NZ Initiative’s Jenesa Jeram. This is the second in a two-part series presenting both … Read more
As obesity and diabetes rates continue their sharp upward rise, calls for a tax on sugary drinks are also on the increase. Today, in the first of a two-part series giving both sides of the debate, the Green Party’s Julie Anne Genter explains why she’s pushing hard for the tax. Let’s start with what we … Read more
The government has announced a new set of tax proposals aimed at getting multinationals like Apple and Facebook to pay more on their NZ earnings. But do they go far enough? And what about a diverted profits tax? Taxation expert Andrea Black breaks it down. Waking up on Wednesday morning I found I had emails … Read more
We wanted to better understand the changing New Zealand economy, and who better to explain it than superstar economist Shamubeel Eaqub. This is the fifth of six short videos featuring Shamubeel giving it to us straight while sitting comfortably in a classic Kiwi chair. In this video Shamubeel explains how tax has changed and why … Read more
From broadcasters to philosophers to the Spinoff, economic illiteracy has abounded in response to the Opportunities Party’s tax policy, argues Gareth Morgan. Thanks to Paul Henry and Jamie Whyte we have a live discussion about where the burden should fall in making New Zealand fair again. At the Opportunities Party our view is that prosperity … Read more
Last week an economist-turned-politician and a broadcaster exchanged verbal salvoes over the idea of taxing certain assets as income. Jamie Whyte explains why he’s siding with the broadcaster. Gareth Morgan has a PhD in economics. Paul Henry does not. On Thursday, Henry interviewed Morgan about his new political party’s tax policy. An argument about economics … Read more
The Treasury has made it clear that current superannuation policies will turn our country into a debt-ridden basket case, and yet media remain largely silent and politicians in denial. Young people need to get voting in a hurry, writes David Seymour. Back when Prime Minister Rob “leave the country no worse than I found it” … Read more
In the latest Ika Table Talk, Jessica Mutch, Grant Robertson and Suzanne Snively join Guy Williams to discuss the impact of the Panama Papers in NZ. Comedian, broadcaster and tall man Guy Williams led a lively discussion at Ika restaurant on Tuesday evening on the subject of Politics, the Press and the Panama Papers. Reporter … Read more
Opinion: National gets away with mixed messages over tax cuts because Labour has failed to grasp the nettle and frame tax as both a fairness and patriotism issue, argues Simon Louisson The left’s failure to frame the tax debate since the last election has put it firmly on track to spend three more years in … Read more