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NZCPR CAMPAIGNS
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Frank Newman
Last week the Tax Working Group published its interim report on its recommended changes to the tax system. The 196 page report makes no firm recommendations but it discards a number of matters raised in the discussion paper and gives strong indications of what is likely to be included in the final report which is due in February.
A strong and growing economy is the real story behind the Coalition Government's 2018 Budget. This is very evident from the Time Series of Fiscal and Economic Indicators which projects Gross Domestic Product to grow $17 billion in the year ended 30 June 2018, from $274 billion last year to $291 billion.
Those who expect the Working Group to produce a comprehensive and impartial review of our tax system will be disappointed. It's not that kind of project. The Group's role is to provide options within the government’s agenda.
A rahui was placed on Cable Bay after a drowning. A man and his family playing touch rugby on the beach were told by a local to ''Clear off…You can't swim here, you can't fish here, you can't play on the beach, so get out of here".
So there we have it. MMP at work. A party that receives 7.2% of the vote gets to choose who runs the country. And they choose a party that received 36.9% of the vote, and that party enters into a coalition agreement with another party that received 6.3% of the vote.
The votes are in but the nation waits. NZ First was the big winner on election night, even though it lost party votes and Mr Peters lost his Northland electorate. The winner and loser tag applies also to National and Labour...
Promises, promises, promises, seems to be the theme of the election campaigns to date. Given the uncertainty of the result, the promises have more relevance. Unfortunately, for property investors some of the promises may not be welcome.
The National Government has produced a measured and politically clever Budget. Where this budget differs from its previous budgets is that it has opened its wallet and distributed the benefits of eight years of conservative management and the increased tax revenue derived from a very strong domestic economy in recent years.
It's stating the obvious to say Donald Trump’s win was historic. It's actually staggering from various perspectives, but 2016 has been a year of historical outcomes – including Brexit. Democracy though is a remarkable thing!
The headlines are relentless about homelessness and the cost of housing. Nowadays $2,500 a square metre is not unusual even for a relatively straight forward build. Given the average home is about 200m2, the building cost alone is likely to be +$500k (plus land cost). So why does it cost so much to build a house? There are many reasons, but mostly the cause ends up at the doorstep of local and central government.
