Jacinda Ardern’s Tax Working Group released its final report last week. It claimed its highly punitive capital gains tax would make New Zealand’s tax system ‘fairer’ by forcing the ‘rich’ to pay more tax.
But their tax excludes the mega-mansions owned by New Zealand’s ultra-rich families, along with their super-yachts, private jets, foreign share portfolios, art collections, jewellery, antiques and other collectibles.
Instead it captures the nurse, who has struggled all her life to save for her retirement, scrimping and saving to put some money into KiwiSaver and to buy a single rental property. A third of the profit on her rental would be taken by the Government, along with a third of her KiwiSaver returns – as they accrue.
It will also catch business owners like the plumber, who has worked long hours building his business, carrying all of the risk, only to find that when he wants to sell up to retire, a third of the goodwill he has created will be taken by the taxman.
Is that fair?
The Prime Minister has repeatedly assured us that our homes would be safe from any proposed capital gains tax. But that’s not true for those living on a bigger section – while their house and an acre (4,500 square metres to be exact) would be exempt, the rest of their land, even if it’s unproductive and cannot be subdivided, would be taxed.
Everyone owning a family bach will be captured by the new law, as will farmers, who, apart from their home and an acre, will be taxed on their land and business.
Is penalising success and undermining our way of life the “fair” society that the PM has in mind?
Is it fair that the PM’s capital gains tax will be set at one of the highest tax rates in the world?
Is it fair that Maori tribal groups may be exempted from a capital gains tax?
Is it fair that inflationary gains will be taxed?
These things are absolutely not fair, and could not be considered fair by anyone with a sense of perspective on what fairness actually is. That’s because the proposed new tax would be changing the rules. The only fair way to introduce the sort of capital gains tax that Jacinda Ardern wants to impose on the country, would be to follow the Australian policy and ‘grandparent’ all assets owned at the time of the introduction of the tax.
As Robin Oliver, a former Deputy Commissioner of Inland Revenue and one of the three Tax Working Group members who opposes a capital gains tax has explained, “Before introducing such a highly punitive tax, [the government should] just enforce the laws that are already in place!”
The reality is that a capital gains tax has been in place in New Zealand for over fifty years. Called the ‘intention test’ it deems that any profit made from the sale of assets or property should be regarded as income, if it was acquired for the purpose of disposal.
This existing capital gains tax was strengthened by National in 2015 in response to the rapid increase in house prices caused by rising immigration. The ‘bright-line’ test taxed any profit made on the sale of rental property within two years of purchase. Once elected, Labour extended it to five years.
Successive governments have looked into the possibility of introducing a stand-alone capital gains tax. However, each of the tax reviews – and there’s been one every 10 years or so for the past 50 years – has concluded that unless the tax is comprehensive and includes the family home, the cost of enforcement outweighs the benefits.
The 1967 Ross Committee review rejected a capital gains tax on the basis of a low revenue yield and huge complexities, not to mention the disincentive effect that such a tax would have on risk taking, investment and growth.
The 1982 McCaw Committee review also recommended against a capital gains tax on the basis that it would not produce significant revenue but would create substantial complexity within the tax system.
The 1987 Valabh Committee, on the other hand, recommended the introduction of a comprehensive capital gains tax without exemptions – they believed that such a tax that included the family home and private assets, would broaden the tax base and allow all other tax rates to be lowered across the board.
However, Prime Minister David Lange rejected the idea, saying “a capital gains tax policy is one that is likely to lose you not merely the next election, but the next three”.
The 2001 tax review, chaired by Rob McLeod concluded, “We do not consider that New Zealand should adopt a capital gains tax. We do not believe that such a tax would make our tax system fairer and more efficient. Instead, such a tax would increase the complexity and costs of our system.”
The 2010 tax review came out in favour of a capital gains tax, but only if it was comprehensive – including the family home and private assets – and accompanied a reduction in income tax and company tax.
In contrast to these independent reviews, by appointing a former Labour Minister of Finance as the chairman, Jacinda Ardern ensured she would receive a politically biased outcome from her Tax Working Group.
Essentially their proposed capital gains tax would exclude the family home but from April 2021 would apply on the sale of residential property, businesses, shares, all land and buildings, and intangibles such as intellectual property and goodwill – except for KiwiSaver, which would be taxed on an on-going basis as profits accrue.
The tax rate would not be the 15 percent that Labour campaigned on, but the income-earner’s top tax rate, which is likely to be 33 percent for most New Zealanders.
With our relatively low income tax thresholds, the tax would disproportionally hit middle-income earners who are already struggling to invest for their retirement.
Furthermore, by taxing possessions bought with income that has already been taxed, this double taxation would dramatically reduce the incentive to save and invest in productive assets.
In fact, given that a lack of capital is one of the main reasons for New Zealand’s chronically low rate of productivity, that has long been holding the country back, it seems totally irresponsible for any government to be even considering taxing capital.
With its harsh rate and unfair application, this scheme has been described as being “more draconian than in Russia and China”.
Labour initially claimed a capital gains tax would improve housing affordability. But other countries show that does not occur. In the long term the tax is likely to push house prices higher as people use their savings to upgrade their family home and create tax free wealth – the ‘mansion effect’.
As a consequence, the cost of providing rental housing will gradually shift from the private sector to the state and social housing providers, as fewer rentals become available. This will force rents up further, even though they are at an all-time high as a result of the punitive changes already introduced by Labour, including extending the bight-line test, ring fencing tax losses, abolishing letting fees, and imposing a raft of costly new regulations covering insulation, heating and ventilation.
The Tax Working Group also claims that their capital gains tax would reduce inequality. But as this week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator, Economist Dr Edward Hudson explains, claims that inequality in New Zealand is rising are being exaggerated:
“There is no evidence that ‘the rich are getting richer’, that the highest income earners are increasing their income share. Similarly, there is no evidence that ‘the poor are getting poorer’. The extremes are not diverging.
“Economic growth means that, over time, virtually everyone becomes better off. Wealthy people become wealthy as a result of higher incomes, or greater contributions to the economy, not by expropriation. Even those on benefits or NZ Superannuation have shared in the increase in incomes that comes with economic growth.”
In other words, if Jacinda Ardern’s Government is serious about wanting to improve the lives of all New Zealanders, her focus should not be on vindictively taxing aspiration and success, but on improving economic growth.
As Dr Hudson explains, just as a rising tide lifts all boats, so a growing economy benefits all levels of society. And the secret to higher living standards and stronger growth is lower taxes, not a capital gains tax!
Labour’s recent flirtation with a capital gains tax can be traced back to Phil Goff. When he took over the leadership from Helen Clark, he appeared to want to take the Labour Party back to its British working class roots. Comrade Ardern is going down that same path.
But Goff and Ardern have misjudged New Zealanders. Kiwis are aspirational, with an outlook on life that’s based on the belief that anyone can get ahead if they are prepared to knuckle down and work hard. By and large, as a society, we roll up our sleeves and get things done. Most New Zealanders just want the opportunity to do better for themselves and their families. That’s why Labour’s ‘us-and-them’ class-based politics fails to resonate.
When Phil Goff campaigned on a capital gains tax in the lead up to the 2011 election, party strategist, MP Trevor Mallard, advised supporters to avoid talking about the detail of the tax: “The key point for us is not to be dragged down into the detail on the CGT. The public don’t care and we get boring”.
Labour’s leadership knew that if voters really understood the full impact of the capital gains tax they were proposing, then David Lange’s warning would come to pass and they would lose the election.
Indeed, that’s what happened, but undeterred, Labour’s new leader David Cunliffe pushed a capital gains tax in 2014, and they lost again.
When Andrew Little took over Labour’s leadership, he was not convinced a capital gains tax was the vote winner the left of the party claimed it was. His approach was to say that once elected, Labour would set up a tax working group to decide on a capital gains tax policy, that would then be put to voters for a mandate at the 2020 election.
With strong support from the far left of the party, Labour’s new leader Jacinda Ardern made a “captain’s call” to design and introduce a capital gains tax after the 2017 election.
Following the predictable outcry over her plan to introduce major tax reform without a public mandate, she was forced into another “captain’s call” – this time a tax working group would outline a capital gains tax policy that could be implemented after the 2020 election.
And that’s where her Tax Working Group’s proposal comes in.
So where to now?
Politics is a numbers game. While the Greens would support even the harshest of capital gains taxes, New Zealand First may baulk at the proposal. Winston Peters is on record opposing such a tax. If he stands by his election promises, Labour’s punitive capital gains tax policy is dead in the water.
Meanwhile, National has stepped up and strongly opposed the proposed capital gains tax, promising to repeal it when they are elected.
National’s tax reform proposal would instead index tax thresholds to the cost of living so that Kiwis can keep more of what they earn.
To make their policy more acceptable, Labour added a sweetener – it claims it will “offset” what it robs from Kiwis via the new capital gains tax, with a cut in income tax.
But this should be seen as the bribe that it really is. As the long-term impact of the capital gains tax beds in, there is little doubt that the taxes raised from the hundreds of thousands of small business owners, bach owners, farmers, lifestyle block owners, sharemarket investors, KiwiSavers, and others, will totally dwarf the $16 or so a week from the income tax cuts. This “offsetting” is equivalent to taking someone’s lunch, and in return giving them a few crumbs.
The Government is expected to report back on whether it intends to go ahead and introduce a capital gains tax in late April.
In the meantime, if you feel strongly about this, you should share your views directly with Government MPs – their email addresses can be found HERE.
THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
Do you support the capital gains tax proposed by Jacinda Ardern’s Tax Working Group?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| No! – never. And it seems Michael Cullen has been resurrected to put the finishing touches on the train wreck he created as Minister of Finance under Helen Clark. He should have been “culled” long ago! | Scott |
| If it had an inflation allowance, then I might consider it. As it stands, it’s a tax on mythical gains. | Gail |
| No way! | David |
| Socialism promises prosperity but delivers poverty- President D. Trump to all socialist governments like Ardern’s. We are sick of all your taxes and you Comrade Ardern as you were not elected by the people. Please resign soon so we can have an early election and you can go and live in the socialist paradise of Venezuela. | Monica |
| Discourages hard work and responsibility essential for national prosperity. | Philip |
| You cant make the poor rich by making the rich poorer. | Clark |
| Our family were robbed of our inheritance in 1960 when my father died unexpectedly. Two-thirds of our estate went in tax and death duties. | Nancy |
| As a Registered Valuer (45yrs ) I can see all sorts of problems will be created and a lot of litigation, a lot of unnecessary grief. It is a typical socialist shotgun blast at something that could have been addressed more surgically. eg:- why not make interest tax deductible for first home buyers for the first 5 years. Solutions should originate from bottom up, not top down. | BRUCE |
| the big boys have had it too good for to long. it is now tome to start thinking about people not just dollars | Bryan |
| Discriminating against those who worked , paid taxes to better themselves and for retirement then taxed again to please the lower denomination of society which is communism | Sidwell |
| It will reduce the incentive to work and save for the future of working families to increase their standard of living. If the present Govt. goes ahead with it then the current Govt . will lose support and NZ will see a new Govt. in power hopefully at the next election. | Ian |
| This is just an unfair envy tax, their going to hurt the working people of this country. | Brent |
| Firstly, why is the tax needed other than to replace the taxes that will be lost with shrinking GDP when the Zero Emissions Bill is enacted (they have to have funds for redistribution to the poorest of our Nation who will become even more energy and sustenance poor. CGT is not making the tax system more equitable when disposable income which has already been taxed, is invested to produce a return which will be taxed again. Secondly, if such a draconian tax is to be introduced then why should one race within our multicultural society receive reduced and preferential rates over the rest of the country’s citizens? Surely that is what the compensatory claims made with the support of the Waitangi Tribunal, and paid for by the long suffering taxpayer, are for? Equality and fairness was obviously the thing furthermost from the mind of Labour’s Ex-Finance Minister. This Government is real good at inviting advice and ‘Have-Your-Say’ providing the advice agrees with their desires and intentions, and you only discuss how draconian the measures they wish to take, and not whether their basic hypothesis is proven. Insults are not productive, but Internal Affairs and Deed-Poll should work overtime to approve the name change to ‘Taxinda’! | Michael |
| I thought we got rid of Cullen in the 2008 election. Now here he is cramming more crap down our throats. This country is on a very slippery slope at present | Richard |
| not in its present form | Anthony |
| To make it anywhere near ‘fair’ inflation would need to be deducted from the capital ‘profit’ and the tax would need to be assessed according to the individual’s average rate of tax over the period of ownership. Investment in property additional to the principal residence has been the surest way of providing a reasonable income or capital source for retirement. Of course this is something that most politicians don’t have a personal interest in. Particularly in the main two parties, as long as they don’t do a Jamie Lee act, they can expect three terms in office after which they’re entitled to gold-plated government superannuation with taxpayer-funded perks, in addition to NZ Superannuation and , if they’re good, the odd ‘job for the boys’ at $1000 per hour! | Alan |
| The proposed capital gains tax has been poorly thought out. It is ideological in nature , and unfortunately illogical in practice. | Neil |
| Absolutely stupid and vindictive | |
| NO, | meg |
| As the government has not made any final decisions on a cgt as yet, isnt your rant a little premature. Sounds like you will be one of those mostly affected. While a number of possibilities are clearly unfair, and in one case racist, I like many others will wait and see the final proposal and comment on it then. Best hold off and retain your credibility me thinks. | Phil |
| You cannot tax a nation into prosperity | Sam |
| They have pulled this country into a downward spiral already do not make it worse. | Wendy |
| It seems to me we middle income earners who have worked hard to try to maintain some independence in our retirement would be penalised once again. I need to see a really good reason why the mega rich (including Maori Incorporations) should be exempt from this capital gains tax. | Gloria |
| absurd,but i hope they keep on ,roll on the next election | Barry |
| its not going to help the average worker or family | John |
| Vindictive describes it perfectly. Come on NZ let’s build a no confidence in this government and force a snap election. | CM |
| another leap towards being a third world economy | Dennis |
| This is a Tax on already taxed money, an envy tax at best. For Business, it is a tax on invention, ingenuity, risk, and hard work. | Lionel |
| It has little to do with redistribution of wealth and a lot to do with money grabbing by labour to fund their buying the next election with silly cash hand outs. | Alastair |
| The proposal completely ignores the effect of inflation, so that the tax will be on the fictitious capital gain that can be huge over a period of time. So not only are we going to tax gains bought with taxed income, we are also going to tax numeric gains that do not relate to realisable value. | Howard |
| NOT FAIR TO TAX GAINS BUT NOT ALLOW CAPITAL LOSSES. | James |
| More envy of those who have worked hard | Bev |
| no confidence in this Government to do what is right for the country with the current tax take. MMP must be changed for the party with the most votes to form a government. New Zealand with the current lot is doomed. | Sam |
| I think the labour government is going to cripple our country if they introduce this capital gain tax in this suggested system | Bill |
| NONONONONONONONO. NO. | Mark |
| No bloody way, I do not want my already taxed hard earned savings stripped by another third. This surely will be the death knell for Labour and good riddance. | Fraser |
| And I don’t think its fair Maori is except. Why should they be? We are so not a one nation. I am angry about this tax. | Kerin |
| Taking the incentive from people who want to better themselves is not the greatest political move. I tend to agree with David Lange it will be one way to lose an election. | Dennis |
| I’ve been paying tax since I was 15 that is for 60 years. We built a small bach in a rural area where we could relax. My husband died before we could enjoy retirement. But I still have the bach and my family uses it. It appears that Labour does not want people to be independent, work hard and save. And if you do they will take it from you. Animal Farm and 1984 here we go. | Paloma |
| Let’s tax anyone who tries to get ahead, crazy. | Jo |
| As always Maori have special exemptions, yet. 1. The Treaty was judged “a simple nullity” by Chief Judge Prendergast in NZ’s Supreme Court in 1877 and still stands. 2. The highest International Court, The Hague” judged “Maoris are native to New Zealand, not indigenous” 3. The UN did not ask of evidence to prove Maoris were indigenous before granting them this unproven status. 4. The supposed “Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi” are, indeed, the principles of an unauthorised translation of the Maori text by Prof. Hugh Kawharu, “admitted on page 663 of the 1987 Court of Appeal document between the New Zealand Maori Council and the Attorney General (CA 54/87) stating, “this Court accepted an unauthorised text by Prof. Hugh Kawharu”. 5. It is against English law for any British subject to be in partnership with their monarch and at the time the Treaty was signed Maoris were already British subjects because New Zealand was already inside the boundaries of New South Wales same as Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) and Norfolk Island. 6. Those who own rental properties have generally worked hard, saved hard and as a result paid more taxes than those who don’t and because of rental income will pay even more tax to support our country. 7. When property is either bought or sold the selling price is “market rate”, no more no less. Inflation eats away the increase, if any, so to replace one rental with another and tax the one sold, no rebate on the repurchased, is robbery. | George |
| Economic lunacy and government sanctioned theft. Its socialist punishment for working hard, making sacrifices and aspiring to a better life. | Richard |
| I remember Nordmeyer and his promises. That was the last time I supported Labour | Peter |
| Its mostly just a tax on inflation ! | Richard |
| Labour and their “fair share” BS. When I was diagnosed with a brain tumour and wanted welfare because after 30 years of paying taxes, I was then not able to work, WINZ laughed at me. I was NOT entitled to my FAIR SHARE of welfare despite paying more than my fair share of tax. Champagne Socialist morons. | Gordon |
| The whole concept under the current administration is founded on pure left wing malice . By inept politicians who cannot accept the variations and differences in intellect ,abilities and intelligence of human beings. | Max |
| The devil’s in the lack of details | Marie |
| This is the most unfair tax grab imaginable. I will never vote for a Jacinda led party ever again, regardless of whether this CGT goes ahead or not. | Russell |
| Just a biased money grab. Bring in a flat tax, the first $20k being tax free for all. Do away with working for families and free student loans and other social subsidies and send the redundant IRD employees to Hawkes Bay picking fruit. | Willy |
| vindictive? more indicative of nz political system of 180 degree shifts as an answer. | kip |
| Cullen should have been putout to pasture years ago….wouldn’t buy a used car from that guy!! | Graeme |
| only if we want to reverse all the recent gains this country has made in the last two decades. Why did Winston foist this pack of incompetents on us? | Irvine |
| I see this tax grab as penalising the hard-working Kiwis to give to those who are too lazy to work and get overpaid to lay around and do nothing! | Janet |
| I believe our PM suffers from ADD and has no real wisdom or concern other than her plans to be the leader of the United Nations if it survives long enough. Her fluffy chats about “wellbeing” are meaningless rubbish. | Frank |
| Would a home in a family trust be exempt? | Wayne |
| I think the government takes enough tax off people already | Carolyn |
| I am Labor voter, but I will not vote for Jacinda. Her policies are based on votes politics to get vote. people working hard are not getting any incentives for hard work and capital they are investing. | Parvez |
| Greedy money grabbing from hard working NZers. Jacinda should be ashamed of herself | Janet |
| This is a FAT NO from me!! When I read about this CGT It dawned on me that this is nothing else but one more instrument in the socialists tool box to redistribute wealth as part of the great Marxist socialist equalisation agenda. Not to mention this typical pattern so common for these chardonnay socialists. Jacinderella and her socialist dwarfs do not consider nor care about the negative side effects which these destructive measures will have on the economy and hence on each individual apart from the super rich, the ones sitting in Parliament on a fat salary and last but not least the Tribal elite who will continue to be the beneficiaries of this massive wealth redistribution racket. The rest of us can go to hell. As I said before : Kiwi Jo Bloke will not wake up before he /she is hurting really bad and by then it will be very hard to fix all that was broken by these bloody socialists.( and by then they will have retreated to their fincas in South America and live the good live) | Michael |
| Now to see if she is going to break yet another “no new taxes” election promise | Pavel |
| NO NO NO I do not support this blatant $ grab, but only from middle NZ. Jacinda has been throwing money around like confetti, buying loyalty and promises and future party votes. What a b… joke she is and it will not create anything except hardship to those who least need it. She’s a disgrace to NZ | Carolyn |
| No need to make things harder for the average Joe | Laurel |
| Heck No – Forcing the mainstream workers who support NZ economy to pay for the low performers. Making the majority of the population poor while the Elite get to rule! | Bruce C |
| unfair and stupid | Gerard |
| I recent that the government wants to take a third of what I have struggled to save in my retirement,what is the point of saving for the future, may as well blow the savings and live well until I die or end up living in the street. | Tony |
| It is grossly unfair to middle NZ and will have a far less effect on the super rich. It is also blatant racialism to exclude Maori land/enterprises and tax every other NZ race & culture! | Sarah |
| It is a great disincentive to saving and investing in production. But then maybe the government wants us to not save so that we become leeches on the public purse. | Anthony |
| The country has worked now for many years without a capital gains tax. Why do they suddenly think they need to take more from us now ? | John |
| It should be at a much lower tax rate with no exemptions i.e. Maori, churches. kiwi saver should not be included because it has been taxed as an earner and it will just kill the money the retirees have | Erik |
| No, there is too much envy in this country, noone wants to see anyone else do well. | Bob |
| I hope people see the danger of our socialist coalition, and get rid of them next election. | Simon |
| blatant rip-off tax. | Donald |
| Another penalty for initiative | Mal |
| Typical Marxist outlook with their Robin Hood ideas | Mike |
| Even IF I supported CGT, it would seriously impact on Govt revenue in times of recession. And once again there are strong APARTHEID elements to the proposals. Disgusting. | Geoff |
| Another tax grab from the socialists! | Roger |
| Far too many taxes already. Ardern said no new taxes in our first term, what a load of rot!! She has done nothing but called her new taxes ‘levies’. | Kaye |
| No No No This is just a rich pricks envy tax but when all the exemptions are factored in the only people who will gain are the accountants The wealthy will structure their investments ( Trusts etc) to limit the incidence of any such tax where as the middle income earners who have saved and gone without to enhance their futures will be hit hard. This will be a disincentive to investment which will be detrimental to NZ overall. I have advocated this before A flat tax to cover the big ticket items of Government ( Health Education Social Welfare etc ) and the rest to be paid for by GST. There can be a bottom tax free threshold so that the low paid are no worse off than at present and will get rid of the vote buying working for families and the like YOU WILL NEVER MAKE A POOR MAN RICH BY MAKING A RICH MAN POOR. These redistribution schemes only serve to lower the overall wealth of all New Zealanders | Robin |
| The dickheads proposing it have stuffed my long term plans for my retirement. I will sell my rental at a reduced price or hang on and double the rent. The loser is the renters either way. | George |
| This is communism at its best. Even worse it is racial communism as Maori are exempt from some CGT’s because they are Maori. What is wrong with these so-called leaders – everything. | Kevin |
| Absolutely not. Tax cuts are the only way to grow the economy. | Graeme |
| I may be an individual income earner with a mortgage and a loan on top of that, but I will not hand out more tax on the home I’m just managing to pay for till I drop dead !, if this CGT ends up coming to fruition then can I withdraw my Kiwisaver money and invest it off shore so she can’t touch it ?! | Kevin |
| There are too many variables and when I learned that Maori interests will not be affected then I am totally against it. | Alan |
| There is nothing else we can expect from the Jacinda club. Name one of that clup who is using something to think. No good will come from that lot. | Johan |
| Tune up the present tax laws and make them apply to big business charities and Iwi as well. Too many are slipping under the current tax regulations and a CGT will not harvest much more revenue after large administrative and management costs are factored in | Graeme |
| It is totally ludicrous to provide a disincentive to purchase rental properties at a time when we are apparently ‘desperately short’ of accommodation. Without a provision for both inflation and improvements, a CGT (Cullen Greed Tax) is ridiculous and will result in fewer and higher priced rental houses. | Alan |
| This makes me feel like instead of working hard to achieve a home and lifestyle that is nice for our kids we should have just stayed in a cushy rental and spent our money on nice clothes and holidays. Why aim to achieve anything if the government can just come and take it. When we retire and need to move to town if in poor health, we wont be left with much after gst and CGT to enjoy our retirement with! | Mandy |
| No, No No ! It is similar to her Kiwi Build programme, which she has recently confirmed WOULD MEET THE TARGET !! lets see what comes from these promises first, before we even look at her next venture !! | Pierre |
| Definitely NOT. !!!! | Reg |
| Once again, the hard workers in the country, to work to look after themselves, now and in their old age are taxed more. take a good Look at the welfare system. | Nan |
| We already have a CGT plus the “bright line” | Hamish |
| triple taxing | Ian |
| She and her demented Greens are a disaster for New Zealand | Tom |
| The most utterly stupid tax idea socialists like comrade Jacinda & Co have ever come up with!!! | Mark |
| Hits all the Working class. This current Government are so naive and amateurish and now, have committed Political suicide. Hooraa. Who the heck wants them to run our Country ….. | Geoff |
| Every cloud has a silver lining. This big, ugly, dark CGT cloud has the silver lining that it should bring an end to this ridiculous bunch of incompetents that seem hell bent on destroying NZ. | Graham |
| I have a lot of questions about this. The main one is “How can I become a maori?” I really need the money! | TOBY |
| Simply greed and wealth redistribution that will disincentivice the most productive and have no positive economic outcomes in the long term. More of Labour’s social engineering. | Frank |
| The current regime is blind to advantages of the tax system as it stands…including significantly the lack of a capital gains tax with its ability to attract capital and innovative talent to the country. These people are total noddies. | David |
| Just another dreadful attempt by a rapacious bunch of Socialists to take money out of honest hard working New Zealanders pockets. Cullen and those on the TWG who approved these proposals should be treated with utter disdain and contempt. | Allan |
| This socialism will destroy New Zealand | Brianb |
| Not in it’s present form, and only if the activity of buying and selling the asset within a designated time-frame creates an income stream. | Kris |
| equity | Dickie |
| It is part of the socialist Labour/Green proposal to introduce socialism. | John |
| We already have the brightline test. This is not necessary! | Luke |
| If anything a reduction in tax would be more successful as those having more will spend more or save more and those on a lower income would have a better life style. The trouble we have with this group is they want to tax the ones who want to succeed and give the money to those who have no desire to work or succeed and bludge on the tax payer. This CGT will drive investors over seas. | ken |
| Theft by milleni socialist arseholes to further support budging Labour die hards | John |
| What about the admin cost of checking all sales of shares, Art works and other multi-facet assets | roger |
| But if it goes ahead in any shape or form Maori should not be exempted! | Carol |
| More tax on middle New Zealand should not go ahead. | Paul |
| Definitely not. | Beryl |
| I could go on about how hard we’ve worked, how we didn’t go on holidays, didn’t smoke, drink or gamble to get where we are now, retired but every thinking person knows that you need to be frugal but many don’t have the discipline to achieve positive financial goals. It’s envy showing through. If it sees the light of day it will financially destroy our country | Mike |
| you don’t print them why not | david |
| The government illogical drive for capital gains tax leaves me gob smacked. It is almost as if someone has an axe to grind. | Ursula |
| I will shift my investments offshore along with myself and family. | Phil |
| Vindictive tax perfectly explains this tax | Cliff |
| I’m happy for them to go on promoting it if by so doing they will be shooting themselves in both feet and that will be the end of Labour. And in any case, whatever they do will have to be “ratified” approved or agreed to by their Coalition partner, and does Winston cheer this one on to the end? I doubt it.! If the Maoris continue to claim, claim, claim, and not issue invoices for jobs done they’ll still be in a tax-neutral position anyway! ( Or is that a little unkind??) Excluding the ultra-luxury boats/yachts, is ridiculous. Isn’t it time to cease using “rich” as a perjorative word and time maybe to start thinking of those who accumulate “items” like spare houses rentals, etc as successful financial workers/ people/savers? When did it become a bad bad thing to be successful at any damn thing? | Mabel |
| Plain socialist thievery by a bunch of ignorant fools | Elizabeth |
| Why does one bother to work hard and get ahead when faced with a CGT at the end of their hard work! | |
| No a thousand times NO! | Barrie |
| A capital gains tax would be destructive to for New Zealanders to get ahead. | Murray |
| But it must be alright.,THE MAORI ARE EXEMPT. Like the Democrats in the USA, this extreme left government are determined to bankrupt the private sector, so as to gain total STATE CONTROL. | A.G.R. |
| It speaks for itself!! | Bruce |
| she does not have the mandate from voters to do this | Colin |
| Certainly not ! Too expensive to administer and very unfair to the average hard working New Zealanders. | June |
| I have a small farm which was my personal retirement scheme. It was purchased in 1983. to be taxed on the capital gain over that time while ignoring inflation is criminal. | Peter |
| Definitely NOT. Why are these Politicians so bloody minded as not being able to see the errors in their ways | Bruce |
| Bur just in case, I am going to get a sun bed and a good sun tan and change my name Wiremu. | Maurice |
| If Labour want to really fuck up this country, then let them introduce CGT. It will be the end of them. | Graham |
| Only Socialists would support such a Tax, any intelligent person would realise that it is counterproductive. People are taxed hard enough in this country, what is needed in our Parliament is a complete reversal of how our Taxes are spent, and who and what they are spent upon. We cannot afford massive amounts of overseas aid in the form either money or goods. Certainly not to our Pacific Island neighbours. Giving away such amounts does not stimulate the recipients to fend for themselves; or become self reliant; A glaring example of this practice being the continual money allocate, given or demanded politically by Maori Iwi. Our 0verseas contributions to many African and one party dictatorships; especially the ones that send their unwanted refugees flooding into the West. The real disaster in our Overseas Aid both public and private is our contributions to such areas as Terrorist Gaza and the Middle East. Yes it would diminish our retiring Politicians securing highly paid positions within the United Nations, such as the Security Council where we have no voting influence whatsoever. This Capital Gains Tax Group has opened a Pandora%u2019s Box by excluding and recommending without any justification, Maori Iwi having special cut rate tax privileges. The reaction to this has been small enough to be muted yet it is apartheid. Well that is of small comfort to us all, but at least the hypocrisy that so long enveloped Maori claims etc are exposed for all to view. Surely the realisation must have dawned that we are no longer ONE NATION! The CGT shows that the present Labour Green alliance by destroying our agriculture, now realise that reducing and penalising our major export earner has dire consequences for this country. The only socialistic alternatives they can come up with are new TAXES. This CGT must not go through, for whatever party becomes government one thing is certain, it will remain in place. | Brian |
| sure to lose them the next election | David |
| I appose the idea of a capital gains tax for all the reasons already spoken of! While this idea of mine will, at first, appear the wrong way to go, I would increase GST and cut back personal income tax, and possibly lift GST from food as they have done in Australia. — Why this way? My daughter about 10 years ago was looking to buy a Florist shop, and looking at the books, the vast majority of the books did not include anything like wages or salary! – Why? – for a business dealing in cash daily, it is so easy to pay “under the table” and for whatever reason IRD doesn’t seem to pick it up. However. that money is going to be spent somehow, and a higher GST would catch at least that proportion of the cash payments that I think are probably getting even more popular! | Ted |
| it appears we are governed by fools | John |
| I am totally opposed for all the reasons set out in this excellent Newsletter -AND more! Ineptocracy Quotation A system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of profiting, and where members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers%u201D%u2026 Sound familiar ? | Hylton |
| capital gains tax will rob my children and grand children that we have tried to help | Murray |
| NO WAY! I sold my rental 2 bedroom house 18 months ago due to unpaid rent, bad tenants, zero support from the Tenancy Tribunal and the looming huge cost of OTT heating and insulation regulations with even more to come from Labour’s recent anti landlord regulations. I had rentals for 60 years. There is a CGT already as my claw-back tax from that sale has to be paid this year, an account for $9,000. The effect of Capital Gains Tax will be an acute shortage of rentals as other landlords get out of the market. The Cullen Tax highlights a further example of unfair treatment with Maoris already threatening court action if they are not exempt from CGT to go with their illegal tax free status of their non profit charitable Incorporated Societies. | Chris. |
| Are we not taxed enough ? Don’t we have enough of what we earn taken away in the form of PAYE, GST, Rates, duties, and so on. | Murray |
| Noooooo | Nevkath |
| Its not a capital gains tax, it is theft. Enforce current laws. | Brooke |
| Please, no more tax – envy-based or otherwise. The more personal responsibility the less taxation and vice versa. The more taxation the less incentive there is to produce, the less production the fewer the jobs. With fewer jobs created there is less freedom, with less freedom there is more slavery. Always bear in mind that taxation is theft as well as being an act of civil war! How much more theft and civil war are we prepared to put up with? | Don |
| and kill innovation? No | Gerry |
| Absolutely no!! If Iwi do not pay then no one else shall pay!! | Bo;; |
| The capital input into my rental assets has already been taxed and the income stream is taxed. The CGT will cement me as a servant to those that bludge. | David |
| If by some miracle they did achieve such a national disaster, this country would never recover, | Ralph |
| These champagne socialists have never worked in the real world apart from part time jobs as kids. The most out-of-touch, incompetent, clueless, nasty, hypocrites to ever masquerade as a government. Attacking everything we have spent our lives building. | derejk |
| it will ruin New Zealand’s economy | alan |
| Totally unfair to those who have worked hard to achieve a nestegg asset | Colleen |
| No not in this form. Rich should pay more and pensions are not taxed | John |
| No No No | Albyn |
| Wonder what NZ First will press for! | Jim |
| The Brightline Test already solves the problem | William |
| it is a mad dog policy | John |
| EVERY-ONE should EMAIL WINSTON to BLOCK jacindas vindictive cap[ital. gain tax with the greens who are a VINDICTIVE mini maori party in disguise. | Cindy |
| operating costs alone tend to negate it | Barry |
| the sooner we get rid of this brainless Government the better, | Graeme |
| No. I’m voting the NEw Conservative Party. National, Labour, and the Greens are not working in the best interest of New Zealanders | Jack |
| Economic disaster! This government has shown that we need to be rid of MMP. | Elizabeth |
| Basically it will stop people saving for their retirement. Maybe this is what they want – giving them more control over the masses – China Russia here we come | Sue |
| they are mad | S |
| Why would any sensible government choose to punish those who make good decisions and put investments in place for their retirement by taxing them on the value the national inflation index. Where is the gain in discouraging those whos’ investments in property grow the housing supply that we are told is so desperately needed. Why would government wish to penalise those whos’ investments in the share market provide capital that is so vital for the increase in productivity that our economy needs so badly. Why would government unfairly tax those who have the guts to take the risks involved in setting up businesses that create new revenue streams for our economy, creating employment opportunities so people can earn and pay tax. A CGT is a 100% negative for NZ | John |
| How can we ever get ahead, this is ridiculous! | Tom |
| I am totally and vehemently opposed to it. | Jackie |
| NEVER | bob |
| Would create more problems than it would solve. | Geraham |
| More tax grind for labour funds to waste on illegal migrants and give aways for more votes to destroy NZ system. get Labour out.. | IAN |
| It didn’t work before and it won’t now. | Peter |
| No way and fortunately most of the recommendations won’t see the light of day.A waste of taxpayers money led by a feeble minded has been in Cullen.How personally degrading for Ardern as she is already scrambling to advocate exemptions such as Farms and small business while trying to justify another failed political stuff up like the Kiwibuild she pathetically still tries to give mileage to.. | Don |
| unfair | donal |
| Hands up for who wants a new tax! What is the matter with people. We are already overtaxed. We should be having a tax reduction if we want the economy to grow so that we can all prosper. Instead we are turning into a socialist nanny state and that only has one outcome. A decline to the lowest common denominator where everyone is poor and miserable. Wake up New Zealand. | Ron |
| Unfair to middle and lower income savers and investors. Disincentive to working harder and carrying risk for future returns. | Tim |
| Ideologically driven and disastrous for the economy | Tony |
| All communist regimes try to break down an existing economy and bring everyone to the same impoverished level | Jenny |
| For all the reasons explained! | John |
| She will be very unpopular if this goes through. | Ben |
| Labour doesn’t seem to want people to do well! | Andy |
| KiwiSaver investment gains to be taxed – ridiculous. People won’t be encouraged to save for their retirement putting additional burdens in the State. | Steve |
| The proposal is just another example of the lack of economic & financial knowledge of our leading governing politicians. | Bernard |
| No bloody way! | Roger |
| I absolutely agree with everything set out in this weeks CGT article. | Graeme |
| By putting Michael Cullen in charge she got the biased recommendations she wanted. If implemented, wait for all the unintended consequences. Too many negative connotations in such policy. | Donald |
| Absolute stupidity. What can you expect from a Socialist/Communist government who suffer from envy. | Graham |
| pure communism at work | Peter |
| Helen’s protegee is going to f… this Country IF we let her. A huge backward step. I am now 72 and I found that since leaving the NZ Police 46yrs ago that the harder I worked the luckier I got. I have sold my business and retired this month. I have just sold my rental home because she was making it just too hard for the owner, and the owner is denied any rights. Time to spend and enjoy whilst I can. Brian. | Brian |
| It is downright disgraceful. Leave us alone to get on by ourselves. More people will give up and live on benefits because what is the point of trying to better yourselves when it is stolen from you. We need to get rid of labour now. | Valerie |
| What a complete disincentive for anyone to strive to get ahead. This will hit everyone and Comrade Jacinda, Comrade Helen, Comrade Micheal will get their just deserts. Just the insidious process and the results from it will loose the election for them next time. We will not forget their intentions. Gives us a clearer understanding of the end game from these commies. | Neil |
| It will take away our freedom / way of life for every Kiwi that wants to move NZ forward and grow. | Greg |
| The current taxation system has for many years favoured the few and disincentivised the majority. We need a change to enable NZ to return to our once egalitarian life style. | Gary |
| Pfffffhhh … good lord this COL is a waste of space (and tax payers money). | Maddi |
| NO WAY. This is a failure by Labour. Do they NOT realize that this will be a major dis-incentive for New Zealanders to SAVE for their retirement. FAIL | Carl |
| So sick of these taxes of envy and jealousy. Punish anyone that does well. | Kat |
| Thank you for your really good article, Dr Newman. It articulates our views and concerns – especially in regard to the exemptions which, we feel, are solely aimed at “buying votes” | Rosalie |
| Taxinda is going to ruin the Kiwi lifestyle as we know it | Hilary |
| Compliance costs will double for the average taxpayer. Typical socialist agenda, redistribute income from those prepared to work hard to those who as Shane Jones states are happy to sit on the couch and watch TV all day. | Chris |
| It was Winston Peters who elected the government not the people who voted. | David |
| Dick Turpin rides again! | Peter |
| absolutely not! It is nothing more than a tax on inflation, which is a consequence of govt. policy mostly anyway 🙁 | Brenda |
| the sooner it is dead the better | Howard |
| This tax would lead to hurting a lot of people without any real justification other than a socialist agenda. | Cyril |
| It strikes at the very heart of Kiwi lifestyle philosophy – work hard and you’ll get rewarded, not punished. | Bill |
| No bloody way, I move my company offshore for sure | Norm |
| I am under the impression that iwi are going to be exempt Is that not racism!! | Murray |
| The White and Blue collared NZ workers are the ones that pay all the taxes to the Govt.The rich people have accountants to invest their clients money into Trusts Etc so that they do not have to pay taxes. | Wayne |
| NO – definitely not!! | Lily |
| Not so much “a silly little girl” anymore but a vile satanic b***h! | Martin |
| not bloody likely | Eric |
| No, no, and no! This government has spent how many thousands of taxpayer $$$$ on this TWG to justify implementing another tax. Red flags all around! | Steve |
| NO.Having spent all my life working hard and saving, don’t smoke,drugs, or waste money, I now find that I will be punished. Having a rental property still has to be maintained, even more now with costs for insulation and regulations, happy to do, but having arrived in NZ early 60s, as an immigrant , I found that there was no incentive at all to save for anything, retirement, no incentives at all because we had a guaranteed pension. So much income is absolutely wasted on smoking, drugs, excessive alcohol etc. Why should it be that my priority of working hard, saving hard, now be subjected to an excessive tax regime, shame on Labour, Ardern and a bunch of loser cohorts…angry, yes I am. Go to Australia, yes they have a CGT, but at least one goes there fully knowing the situation. | Audrey |
| Individual property ownership expands an individuals horizon and sense of worth. ” If one owns property , that property is him…in some ways he’s bigger because he owns it ” ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ will descend on Jacinda who will be lost forever to the dustbin of political history… | CHowes |
| Just how RED is comrade Cindy? Remember, she is a Globalist and in order to bring in their World Government they first have to totally wreck the economy and society that presently existsand you have to admit she is doing a great job of this. Then, when there is blood in the streets and total chaos everywhere, the Globalists ride in with their One World Government and save the day. Except that in this “DAY” a small group rule and the rest of us are just useful idiots. | Ronmac |
| Beware Labour bearing gifts. Remember? | Art |
| Stop bring swayed by the old has beens get a grip | barry |
| all taxes are regressive & punitive to the economy. | john |
| If we tax success then people will stop bothering to try to improve their lot, become more dependent on handouts and the country go rapidly downhill economically. | Brian |
| I have worked since I was 16 yrs old (now 54) I have worked hard and saved, joined kiwisaver to help in my retirement, taken chances on investing, worked away from home just to make ends meet. I finally have a rental property that I am still paying for, it seems that this government is not wanting anyone to succeed and provide for themselves – in fact you can get paid not to do so. I feel I am being targeted to pay everything for the “have nots”, I should be able to enjoy what I have worked so dam hard for. I still pay taxes on everything the same as everyone else!! I am not “rich” just a hard working New Zealander wanting to get ahead. The whole situation is frustrating and infuriating!! | Paula |
| A Naive proposal from a Naive Government!! | Tony |
| If following other countries then they must follow with every thing that country has. Most, if not all, countries that have capital gains tax also the ability to claim for interest paid which was abolished in 1989 | John |
| I could however support a CGT on owners of a portfolio (say 3 or more) of rental properties but at a flat tax rate of say 15%. However the proposal seems to want to tax people wanting to improve productivity. That makes no sense to me. | Keith |
| Absolutely should not happen, would be so very much detrimental for this wonderful country | Rodger |
| Just another policy based on jealously by the loony left. | Mike |
| We have a reasonable tax system in place, we don’t need new taxes, especially a patently unfair tax such as this. | Jan |
| They are crooks. Parliament is not a place for honest people!!! | Dave |
| This is another tax gathering excercise in frutility as most mps are going to be hit by it along with the average family who has planed wisely for there retirement | Ian |
| It penalised production and is suppressive to small businesses and lifestyle block owners. It is vindictive and seeks to bring Kiwis down rather than allow them to make a go of things without being hobbled by govt at every turn. As Churchill said%u2019 a govt can never tax its way to prosperity%u2019 | Mary |
| Emphatically NO! | Brian |
| A Capital Gains tax is an envy tax on the twisted pretext that those without are entitled to the best others have while being devoid of the energy, ambition and effort to honestly achieve it for themselves as the “others” had to do. | Roger |
| We have a small business which I paid for from my super of which I paid tax on. Now the only way to get the money back is to sell the business. Under CGT I would have to pay tax on money I have already paid tax on. Rude. | Don |
| Absolutely negative and stupid. | Peter |
| More of the politics of envy | Frank |
| Enforce what is already in place. | Bert |
| What a have, con job and exceptionally punitive on the older population. Venezeula here we come | Anne |
| The proposed tax on property, is a tax on property inflation. The proposed tax on lifestyle blocks is a land tax. The proposed exemption for Maori land is racist. The proposed tax is not about being fair, but instead promotes a socialist agenda and racial division. | David |
| We were caught in Bill Rowling’s attempt to bring in CGT and it doesn’t help anyone. It is strictly rob the rich to give money to the less so. Ideology is quite stupid in this present case – practicality would be better. Is the Prime minister a friend of V. Putin????? | Elizabeth |
| Totally unfair, punishes effort and initiative. Will destroy the rental market. | Bob |
| Far too harsh. It would affect the hard work done by middle NZ to get ahead | Doreen |
| Well-put Muriel with your CGT explanations, very comprehensive. | Jim |
| All of a sudden, Labour have realised that with the level of spending they have promised, Taxation alone will not fund the bribes and therefore the introduction of an across the board Capital Gain Tax system is the only way they can see the funding being raised short of borrowing . ( But not from China) | Barry |
| Never | David |
| This government is an ‘Ineptocracy’ – a system of government where the least capable to lead, are elected by the least capable of producing, and where members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers. | Phil |
| Jacinda is not fit to lead the government of nz she has never worked and therefore has mo understanding of the normal people but only of those that live on benefits and never contribute to the economy | David |
| Cant wait to vote these fools out of Government | Robbie |
| Socialism by stealth | David |
| This would be a backwards move | Rob |
| In my opinion the CGT is being implemented to satisfy an ideological agenda. There is no intention whatsoever to make NZ more productive. Basically just robbing the doers to give to those that do little to nothing. I also find it bizarre the statement they want the tax system fairer when working for families policy effectively means those receiving it pay NO tax. | Tracy |
| more of the Socialist “…lets tax ourselves to prosperity” nonsense. | Frank |
| Absolutely Not. Some Iwi are worth billions, why would they not be part of a capital gains tax? Makes no sense to me. | Jan |
| Hard working people trying to save for their retirement should not be so unjustly penalised. | Allan |
| It was proposed this way to take the flak. THEY WILL try to intro it much watered down. As Labour did with GST intro @2.5%original. Look at it now. stop this tax. | Nick |
| It is idiot territory ! | Bill |
| one cannot solve a countries failing economy by robbing those who work and save ; by giving the their monies to those who don’t work and keep on producing too many children ,by which they create a problem that leads far into the future . | Roy |
| thieves & robbers. I have missed out on overseas trips and other luxuries to gain what I have? Now these mongrels want to steal it from me. | Rick |
| Ms Ardern should check political history…she will go the same way as her fellow Labour Governments who tried to push this barrow of dangerous socialism. This tax has never been supported in the history of NZ politics. | Robyn |
| It’s the only way people can get ahead. | John |
| The structure will be unfair and Maori should not be exempt. This is reverse racism | Kim |
| Ardern and her lot are ideologically drive with no idea of the poor consequences of their actions, not only in respect of the CGT but in most other policies they adopt. | Gifford |
| I wouldn’t be putting too much faith in Winston saving the day.. He now is distancing himself from his own earlier statements as made before gaining his ministerial warrant… | Martin |
| It is too complex, too expensive to administer & grossly unfair. A simpler solution is to move income tax rates down at the low end and up for the mega-incomes. The ability to tax capital gains is there now if the intent was such. | Doug |
| It will not work. | Elizabeth |
| No I don’t support it. | Kate |
| I hope she does try to bring it in and then no one with a brain will vote for her | Simon |
| They are wasting too much of our money already. They should learn to budget instead of making the taxpayers lives more and more uncomfortable. | Chris |
| My rental property has been maintained over 30 odd years by me without claim for labour costs. Unpaid rent, damage, vacancy costs have been absorbed by me because tenancy law is tenant biased. Costs of arbitrary improvements I have paid. There has been little return on this investment any made is taxed. I am now retired expecting reward for 30 years of input into rental property to find I may have to keep working to make up for the CGT grab just to make it fair for those who choose to do nothing all their life. | richard |
| Gosh, what next?!! | Rod |
| It stifles enterprise. It stifles savings efforts. | David |
| Those who punish success end in failure. | Roger |
| Spread the tax load around income. | Tony |
| This government including Dr Cullen have no concept of what the result of this tax will have on the general public. | Andrew |
| Not possible to raise the standards of the poor by pulling down the so called rich. | Brian |
| CGT will reduce productivity and slow the economy, compliance costs will be outrageous, it will push up rents and reduce rental numbers. | Kate |
| it is a vindictive tax, and we are just so fed up with jacinda ardern and her party,continually threatening those who work the hardest. Labour is constantly spending taxpayers money and one only has to look at the fiasco from Shane Jones’ decision to spend and subsequently waste millions in Northland to realize that all Labour does is spend, spend, spend, and then think it doesn’t matter that they try to constantly take from those who do work the hardest Michael Cullen and Helen Clarke are not members of this government and were not voted in, but it is very obvious that MS Ardern is relying on their advise much more that the public realizes. I oppose this CGT and it’s unfairness to the New Zealand public, and am very concerned about the path our country is headed down | Jenny |
| Why would a bunch of coalition numpties who have never owned a business themselves even consider what’s being proposed without getting some ground level commentary from the hard-working middle class people it will affect the most. NZ will come to a grinding halt if this hotch-potch lot of would be politicians implement the CGT. | John |
| It will reduce our retirement to state dependency by double taxing our savings | Tony |
| Theft by another name. | Terry |
| Absolutely NOT! And to even contemplate giving IWI an exception is Racist in any language!This is leftist extremism in the worst possible scenario.NZ’S need to take a stand and show that we won’t tolerate this nonsense.Maybe it’s time for yellow jackets as in France! | Steve |
| They have no idea about how normal people work | Diana |
| Absolutely not. If you want “fairness” just slide the tax breaks up a bit. Oh, this would include everyone and not exempt Maori. | David |
| Dr Cullen didn’t have the courage to bring it in all those years he could have tried, so slithers in under the back door and takes his fat fee no doubt on the way out | Wayne |
| They are just thinking of ways to tax what they have already taxed | Colin |
| Totally unfair. I have a batch that I worked hard for and am still working pt in my retirement | Jim |
| enough of this tax grab | Graeme |
| Definitely No let’s vote them out next time | Peter |
| Draconian, unfair, money grabbing socialist garbage. Introduce this stuff, you are gone!!!! If you want to make improvement to this country, encourage and develop young people, provide incentive for them to succeed. If all you have is a hammer, all you will see is a nail. | Grahame |
| You don’t fix the tax system by creating new punitive taxes. | John |
| Emphatically NO | Andrew |
| No way do I support the Capital Gains Tax that is proposed. You bet the govt would make sure the total tax take would be a lot higher than is is now. Leave it as it is now. | Frank |
| It is a threatening and vindictive proposal against hard working New Zealanders. It threatens any aspiration and those who set out to care for themselves and their families. | Peter |
| We already have the bright line test. nearly Nearly everybody agrees with that. The CGT is an assault on the kiwi way of life. So what if the rest of the world has one. What are we, lemmings? The current government are looking at having a huge surplus this year from our current fair tax system. Spend some of that on the down trodden. | Craig |
| Absolutely not. As Muriel’s article observes, existing legislation covers capital gains, it is however not enforced. | David |
| Overwhelmingly, NO. The politics of envy will send New Zealand backward. There is not a country in history that has taxed itself to prosperity. A better option would be to reward success, encourage risk taking and investment, and reduce the reliance on welfare. New Zealand is short of investors and a capital gains tax will drive investors cash offshore where a better return can be had. The cost of money will rise, i.e. interest rates will increase and mortgages with it, whilst unemployment will rise. What a stupid woman we have for prime Minister! | Peter |
| It is politically motivated and is the politics of envy. It has little to do with fairness and more to do with wealth redistribution | Richard |
| A tax of envy. Socialism here we come. | Diana |
| This gov’t was formed by one man Peters we all know that. It is not a legitimate gov’t thanks to MMP | Dennis |
| So Maori land would be exempt because it is communal and this would be against the Treaty of Waitangi. Strange, I cannot find anything in the wording which refers to any form of taxation. | Geoff. |
| Labor isn’t for the worker any more it’s for the maori | Jimmy |
| It is folly total madness | Michael |
| It is a nasty tax by nasty people | Lenise |
| No not as it is proposed but we do need some sort of CGT especially on people who invest heavily in property to avoid tax on their gains and they even get tax breaks if they run their business ata a loss . One area where more tax could be obtained is to look at registered charities , particularly all the businesses that the so called Maori trusts own and don%u2019t pay tax on . Property speculation causes massive cost increases which equals inflation which costs all of us . | Jock |
| A CGT is long overdue in NZ. There are many benefits to be derived and hopefully one will be to remove most investors out of the real estate market and thus make homes more affordable. | Tony |
| Socialist Racist Envy Tax | Greg |
| Most people develop lifestyle blocks with sheer hard labour,under a CGT none of that would be taken into account if they eventually sell for a profit,where would be the incentive to plant and develop the land when you are going to be so heavily taxed! | Chris |
| Economic growth is the only useful way ahead, not capital attraction by draconian tax. | Stan |
| It’s socialism and not what I voted for. It’s time to get rid of this government. | Kristene |
| Isn’t theft against the law? | Hugh |
| This is insane, and now Maori corporations will be exempt from CGT. | Rod |
| They always hit the middle income people and now that I am nearly 65 I am more worried that the government will bring in this tax and i will be disadvantaged. | Anne |
| Never. | Sheena |
| Why don’t we have an other party that standing up against this tax, where are you national maybe time to get rid of Simon! | Michael |
| never support it | Paul |
| Promises of reductions in other taxes never happens unless it is election year. | Colin |
| one more bit of collateral damage from turncoat Winstons 180 degree | Collin |
| How on earth can this proposed CGT be considered fair. This is such a bad idea for NZ and would have damaging results. | Vivienne |
| Likely it would force us to leave NZ for a country that values hard work and allows people to get ahead. | Michael |
| Socialist wealth redistribution. Hideous | Russ |
| Sorry NZ, you’ve sat on your backsides and done nothing about Maori and Tribal handouts even though Maori are not the first people, well now here it comes, enjoy, you’re just getting your rewards for complacency. And of course Capital Gains Tax will pay for all the rewards and promises you are expecting. | Raewyn |
| This proposed CGT is totally inappropriate in so many ways. It will destroy so many businesses, and erode what little savings many people are trying to accrue. | Heather |
| Yet again another rushed policy, that has as much depth as a puddle on a flat roof. | George |
| The Blind Deaf and Dumb have more intelligence than this Government. The Greens are like worm fodder. One cannot find a lower place for them to ferment. | David |
| Totally against Remove personal incentive to invest, destroy opportunity, create lethargy and future dependency. Poor economics. Poor politics. | Neal |
| This dreadful tax will squash aspiration. We need incentives to work, prosper and invest – not disincentives. | John |
| labour wasn’t even voted in our mmp is backward it should be the party with the most votes gets to chose the others that come in with it, another Tax oh of coarse Labour are in government just what we need. bloody commies | Nigel |
| The government shut down the oil and gas industries throwing people out of work and costing the country billions. They then propose introducing another huge disincentive to the whole population in the form of capital gains tax. Who are they supposed to be serving? Us or their own ideology. | Brian |
| My god New Zealand wake up. Adern and her socialist mob have got to be stopped. They will try and sugar-coat this with a lollipop distraction. They need to be shown the door…Now! | Robert |
| and I have sold my rental property partly because of its advent | Ray |
| No, no, no – a thousand times NO. I am dead against a capital gains tax for NZ! | Robert |
| A capital gains tax would penalise people for trying to get ahead. What sort of a government would do that? Only one that doesn’t really care about real wellbeing – that only cares about punishing anyone who does well for themselves and their families. | Laura |
| Jacinda Ardern comes across as caring, but at heart she’s a socialist pushing policies of envy and greed. New Zealand deserves better. | Jason |
| A capital gains tax would ruin this country. | Roger |
| For once National has stepped up and is doing a good job opposing Labour’s appalling tax. Unless they stuff things up they will get my vote at the next election. | Colin |