Debate growing about exodus of young New Zealanders to Australia and beyond, but the penny has yet to drop for older home-owners: unless they surrender to wealth taxes, they will lose their grandkids
The most recent mood of the boardroom highlighted privately the big end of town are critical of the government. Even wanting to consider a more equitable tax system, but refusing to say so publicly, it’s infuriating to not say the emperor has no clothes.
When you surely are the ones best placed and have a responsibility to do so
That's been surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) true of many otherwise left-leaning and asset rich landlords for a while. Just continuing to Vote Left every 3 years and remaining quietly embarrassed is not enough. Puts me in mind of Love Me, I'm a Liberal by Phil Ochs
Yes, just how many quarters of New Zealand just quietly go along with this while enriching themselves. But I’d hoped that once it’s in the boardroom and it is definitely costing all these companies, this austerity.
Not to mention loss of productivity, surely the time has come.
not to mention that any builders current indemnity insurance cover wouldn't automatically cover self certification, and who in their right mind would extend cover to this over the 10 year warranty requirement? imagine what the premiums would be.
Will it mean the councils are no longer the last person standing for liability cases in the future? Will trades people wind up companies more frequently (than they already do) to limit liability? Will insurance premiums for this be huge and another cost to pass on to owners? Would you really want to be a trades person & take that personal risk?
We had a builder who built our new home to replace the one we lost due to the Christchurch earthquakes. I insisted he join a trade organisation, which he did. When his job was deficient, we were awarded $170k to remedy some of the repairs. He placed his company in receivership and opened another company the next day.
Moving steadily into the 'We told you so' category is the increasing proportion of polled New Zealanders who favour a capital gains tax ... as long as it's on someone else:
'Sixty-five per cent of respondents said they would support a capital gains tax in some form.' Thomas Coughland reports in the NZ Herald. 'The most supported capital gains tax situation is for the sale of an investment property (57% support), followed by the sale of a business (43% support).
'However, a large majority of New Zealanders do not support a capital gains tax on the sale of a family home, which was opposed by 78% of people. There was also strong opposition to a capital gains tax on other assets such as boats, cars and paintings, which was opposed by 64%.
'This could pose a challenge to Labour should it head down the capital gains tax route. In the past the party has faced difficulties when articulating the detail of what would and would not be touched by a capital gains tax.'
[It certainly would: a capital gains tax on investment properties would dent the enthusiasm for being mum-n-dad landlords, but would do nothing to end the impetus for the 'mansion effect' of building ever larger and more lavish 'family homes' as the tax-free investment of choice.]
We need more exposure to the concept of Land Value Tax mentioned as favoured by Bernard often enough. It is also a concept taken up as policy by The Opprtunities Party though possibly under review. It definitely needs to become a major part of a general discussion on CGT, something that seems to be gaining popularity. LVT is perhaps defined as a wealth tax which superficially seems like a tax on the wealthy, but there needs to be an understanding that anyone building wealth through land speculation should pay an annual tax on the money invested in such activity should be on equal footing as money (wealth) invested elsewhere.
I've been a fan of an LVT. But it seems likely to be added to local body rates bills, and they already provoke a chorus of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Perhaps if the LVT had a tangible quid pro quo abolition of tax on the first $20k of income it might be a goer.
It comes back to how to pluck the most feathers for the least hissing.
I guess some classic cars do, like old stamps and dodgy Da Vincis. If a capital gains tax is imposed on the family home, where will the smart money hide? That will be IRD's next question.
Thought of the day, a number of the people who are political donors seem to spend a lot of time out of NZ, are they residents for tax purposes? If not perhaps they can't make donations?
There is also a number of pensioners who split their time between NZ and Australia, perhaps we could change the number of days in physically in NZ to qualify for NZ pension?
A wealthy (self-made post-WWII European refugee) friend of my late father lived on Norfolk Island for tax purposes. He was required to be on the island for six months and one day of year to qualify for tax resident status.
Thirty years in the construction industry and this morning I read this,
"The changes could potentially mean that new, simple, repeatable houses built by big reputable builders ‒ such as GJ Gardner or Jennian Homes ‒ could be built without any building consents at all."
So Gjs who I have delt with a bit contract out there building work at low rates, the builders come in and put it up as fast as they can to make some money, If they are slow its just not worth it. We come in and walls are not straight, flashings are put in wrong etc, most of the time we get the inspector to tell the builders to rectify it as builders will argue and deny anything is wrong to us, giving these big companies who screw down contractors an even bigger advantage over smaller and in my opinion better trades men with small teams
Another sad saga for NZ. I heard the “Bald headed Boardroom Bandit” on RNZ this AM. He lies more than the T man on climate change. We do not have till 2050 possibly only till 2030 to make sufficient changes and he and his rich funders are deniers. 2 bits of good news, Simplicity is putting solar on its Remuera development And maybe we can decrease methane from cows???. Can you please get Catherine to do a deep dive on Methane from “Natural” gas as opposed to coal burning. Should we decrease methane from cows while increasing it from burning more “natural” gas and importing more low waged slaves for the capitalist grossly unequal machine?
It's infuriating. He regularly blames Labour for leaving the economy in tatters but happily takes credit for the former government's climate policies, which have started to bear fruit. Then he has the gall to tell us we're "on track" for 2050. Strangely the Climate Change Commission is a little less optimistic, pointing out that what is required is actual policies designed to reduce emissions, especially in the agriculture sector. Not even more hot air.
A number of years ago I attended a talk by the wonderful Sir Paul Callaghan. He asked members of the audience to stand up if they had children living out of NZ. And then to stay standing if they also had grandchildren living elsewhere.
The numbers were sobering and I have never forgotten the moment. This would have been an educated audience (I think it was a talk sponsored by The Royal Society, focused on our future prosperity). The ‘brain drain’ is a phrase we are not hearing in the current debate…
I'm curious: did he also ask how many people in the audience were born overseas? Today's population is extremely mobile, but that doesn't mean previous generations stayed put, nor that all immigrants to NZ come as cheap-as replacements for departed Kiwis.
For clarity, I am a British immigrant to NZ, having married a Kiwi who was on his OE - we have 3 kids who are a glorious combo of NZ Māori, NZ European and European European. My mum is from France; she met my dad while working in England. My paternal grandmother, her mum, and her nan were all born in overseas too; each due to their fathers' employment.
Then you get the many Kiwi-born 2nd+ generation kids who may simply be emigrating back to their ancestral homes. It's hard keeping culture and language alive in a foreign land, and being multicultural is a tough gig when trying to understand yourself - let alone paying the bills.
I don't know how many are in the above boats, just wanted to mention it because having grandparents by videocall or phone was always my norm. I cannot regret that too much, because I wouldn't exist otherwise and nor would my kids.
That doesn't mean I can't also be pissed off about NZ's socio-economic system and structural nonsense that narrows our options.. just.. emigration isn't new, nor is it simply a brain drain, and grandchildren are beautiful humans, no matter where they're raised 💕
I would frame it not as " watch your grandkids grow up in Australia" but as "Hear the accent of your Australian grandkids as they cheer for Aussie teams"
Re Climate and Methane. Imo, a really forward thinking government would be encouraging the phasing out of an unsustainable dependency on animals as food, not trying to modify their digestive systems to suit human beings. Investing in developing plant proteins would be a more sustainable and much healthier and more ethical option, than feeding seaweed to cows, but that would take courage and imagination. Maybe this could be a topic for the Hoon?
Um Bernard - that heading for today's Kaka hurts a bit.
I know you have a thing about grand children growing up in Australia. There are many of us with no choice - They are either in Australia or further afield. And not because of lack of wealth tax, but because their parents have no money to help them out and they go away to find a way of being independent. I don't like having Skype grandchildren but I'm so pleased that three families are able to live sustainable productive lives. Many of the people I know who's children and grandchildren are away ended up raising children on our own and money was always tight. We don't seem to be on your radar.
I just wish this was a smarter country. Since Sir Paul Callaghan gave this speech in 2011 we're backward on the things he talks of. It seems more like we're a country where the wealthy want boltholes which gets the country absolutely nowhere remotely inspiring.
I'm concerned that the penny will never drop. I'm friends with a few boomers & whilst they are good people, they genuinely have a contempt for the younger generation. They get along with me fine but man!!! The way they talk about the younger generation is eye opening. They'll call them entitled, lazy, eff' all contribution to society, brainwashed... this includes people with grandchildren. As long as there is this pervasive prejudice, those in power have NO INCENTIVE to make things better for the younger generation, because they literally think they(young) don't deserve it.
I hear this too, Cristina. Young people called all sorts of awful names because they won't put up with the shitty abusive racist sexist nonsense that we swallowed in spades as young people. They want kids to toughen up but really I want to know where their hearts are.
The irony is, that young people learnt so much from the older generations. Taking a stand against apartied, the Vietnam war, even at the height of HIV crisis in the 80s, you guys advocated for treatment of the victims irrelevant of perceived morality. That's what gets me, the "kids these days" are learning from the older generations example & still being criticized. It's mind boggling.
I had no idea about this. No wonder we end up going nowhere. Awful older people. I couldn't understand this country but now you mention those mean ignorant people i see better.
The rentiers don’t care, they just use their non taxed income to fly over to Australia frequently, spend NZ winter in their Aussie apartment. They are also the people who can be the “bank of Mum & Dad.”
I was absolutely appalled at the bare faced lies that NZ is on track to meet its climate commitments by our PM on morning report. I guess he is relying on most people not giving a stuff about climate change when we can indulge in the sport of kicking people when they are down.
Excuse the cynicism but I am feeling this country is populated by mean spirited , retributive, and plain mean people.
Thinking about this dumb country - there are children who can't learn and children who wont learn. Would it help if we package up the children who wont learns and send them to Australia?
Ooh, can of worms right there.. again harking back to previous generations, those born in the 40s, 50s & 60s could leave school pre-16 with no academic qualifications and get an entry-level service job or apprenticeship. Many of them would now be described as neurodivergent "won't learn" kids - dyslexic, ADHD, etc - but there was a pathway for them that would often be better than school, more hands-on than deskwork.
Today, kids - even those who "will learn" - are lucky to get a weekend or evening job before they turn 18. Apprenticeships are now 80% bookwork, rather than 80% tools; supermarkets won't look at applicants with daytime commitments (like school or uni), and have so many to choose from that NCEA 2 is about the lowest they need stoop to; and so on.
Kids for whom the educational system doesn't work are now effectively adrift when it comes to finding work too. All because the way in which we assess capability is inextricably linked to a crammed curriculum and the written word, rather than enabling kids to gain confidence in skills they enjoy and can apply to productive jobs.
Spot on Sophie, how we define kids 'who won't learn" & kids "who do learn" is indeed the can of worms. I do agree we need a more versatile education system that caters to many different learners. Unfortunately some people might consider that as "mediocrity" but it's part of a wider trend in our country. The definition of what is "correct" or "how things should be" is getting more & more narrow, so I'm glad you made those observations! That Overton window is getting smaller & smaller by the day & it's all driven by prejudice.
I hear ya Sis. Admittedly it was quite an evocative title. That's NOT intended as a criticism either. I get what Bernard is trying to do. He is doing his best to convey to us what the consequence's are with our current economic structures. Like a lot of us Kiwis, It's also a topic that is near & dear to his heart, hence the emotive title & it affects us too because we care so much. We love our country & want our future generations to be able to grow up & thrive here.
Thanks heaps Christina. I am angry that we have never been able to take an alternative path from the neoliberalism that we were forced into on the eighties. It has taken us steadily to where we are. No trickling down, only sucking up which is how it’s meant to work. I can see no future that will get us out of it.
I know Bernard feels strongly how wrong it is but because I come into the grandparent category I feel blamed for the fact the kids keep leaving and that is really wrong.
The main problem with a capital gains tax is the returns for the first few years are very low. However if this was coupled with a wealth tax, based largely on property, it will overcome this. The wealth tax can is very easy to administer based on local government valuations. It can apply to investment properties only, or even more restricted to unoccupied property, or be expanded to cater for farm properties or all properties. It can also be phased out as a CGT become more worthwhile.
I think we also need an inheritance tax. One that kicks in at a high level - say $10m. This would ensure some tax is collected from those people who have made vast profits from capital gains over the last 50 years.
The imputed income tax advocated by Susan St John and Terry Baucher looks like it could be better than wealth and capital gain tax? But still have an inheritance tax. Point is more to redistribute income and wealth than raise revenue because we are a currency issuing nation so public funding does not depend on tax income.
The most recent mood of the boardroom highlighted privately the big end of town are critical of the government. Even wanting to consider a more equitable tax system, but refusing to say so publicly, it’s infuriating to not say the emperor has no clothes.
When you surely are the ones best placed and have a responsibility to do so
That's been surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) true of many otherwise left-leaning and asset rich landlords for a while. Just continuing to Vote Left every 3 years and remaining quietly embarrassed is not enough. Puts me in mind of Love Me, I'm a Liberal by Phil Ochs
Yes, just how many quarters of New Zealand just quietly go along with this while enriching themselves. But I’d hoped that once it’s in the boardroom and it is definitely costing all these companies, this austerity.
Not to mention loss of productivity, surely the time has come.
But alas not so much
guess there’ll be more marchin’ 😕
Allowing builders to self-certify has the look and feel of a repeat of leaky homes. Mr Penk must think history is bunk.
Do the same thing again but we'll get different results seems to be the current Govt's mantra
Isnt it also a sign of insanity?
not to mention that any builders current indemnity insurance cover wouldn't automatically cover self certification, and who in their right mind would extend cover to this over the 10 year warranty requirement? imagine what the premiums would be.
Will it mean the councils are no longer the last person standing for liability cases in the future? Will trades people wind up companies more frequently (than they already do) to limit liability? Will insurance premiums for this be huge and another cost to pass on to owners? Would you really want to be a trades person & take that personal risk?
We had a builder who built our new home to replace the one we lost due to the Christchurch earthquakes. I insisted he join a trade organisation, which he did. When his job was deficient, we were awarded $170k to remedy some of the repairs. He placed his company in receivership and opened another company the next day.
Moving steadily into the 'We told you so' category is the increasing proportion of polled New Zealanders who favour a capital gains tax ... as long as it's on someone else:
'Sixty-five per cent of respondents said they would support a capital gains tax in some form.' Thomas Coughland reports in the NZ Herald. 'The most supported capital gains tax situation is for the sale of an investment property (57% support), followed by the sale of a business (43% support).
'However, a large majority of New Zealanders do not support a capital gains tax on the sale of a family home, which was opposed by 78% of people. There was also strong opposition to a capital gains tax on other assets such as boats, cars and paintings, which was opposed by 64%.
'This could pose a challenge to Labour should it head down the capital gains tax route. In the past the party has faced difficulties when articulating the detail of what would and would not be touched by a capital gains tax.'
[It certainly would: a capital gains tax on investment properties would dent the enthusiasm for being mum-n-dad landlords, but would do nothing to end the impetus for the 'mansion effect' of building ever larger and more lavish 'family homes' as the tax-free investment of choice.]
https://archive.is/OEC61
We need more exposure to the concept of Land Value Tax mentioned as favoured by Bernard often enough. It is also a concept taken up as policy by The Opprtunities Party though possibly under review. It definitely needs to become a major part of a general discussion on CGT, something that seems to be gaining popularity. LVT is perhaps defined as a wealth tax which superficially seems like a tax on the wealthy, but there needs to be an understanding that anyone building wealth through land speculation should pay an annual tax on the money invested in such activity should be on equal footing as money (wealth) invested elsewhere.
I've been a fan of an LVT. But it seems likely to be added to local body rates bills, and they already provoke a chorus of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Perhaps if the LVT had a tangible quid pro quo abolition of tax on the first $20k of income it might be a goer.
It comes back to how to pluck the most feathers for the least hissing.
Cars depreciate in value rapidly - I'm wondering how many sell for a capital gain.
I guess some classic cars do, like old stamps and dodgy Da Vincis. If a capital gains tax is imposed on the family home, where will the smart money hide? That will be IRD's next question.
Thought of the day, a number of the people who are political donors seem to spend a lot of time out of NZ, are they residents for tax purposes? If not perhaps they can't make donations?
There is also a number of pensioners who split their time between NZ and Australia, perhaps we could change the number of days in physically in NZ to qualify for NZ pension?
A wealthy (self-made post-WWII European refugee) friend of my late father lived on Norfolk Island for tax purposes. He was required to be on the island for six months and one day of year to qualify for tax resident status.
Thirty years in the construction industry and this morning I read this,
"The changes could potentially mean that new, simple, repeatable houses built by big reputable builders ‒ such as GJ Gardner or Jennian Homes ‒ could be built without any building consents at all."
So Gjs who I have delt with a bit contract out there building work at low rates, the builders come in and put it up as fast as they can to make some money, If they are slow its just not worth it. We come in and walls are not straight, flashings are put in wrong etc, most of the time we get the inspector to tell the builders to rectify it as builders will argue and deny anything is wrong to us, giving these big companies who screw down contractors an even bigger advantage over smaller and in my opinion better trades men with small teams
Hi Bernard
Another sad saga for NZ. I heard the “Bald headed Boardroom Bandit” on RNZ this AM. He lies more than the T man on climate change. We do not have till 2050 possibly only till 2030 to make sufficient changes and he and his rich funders are deniers. 2 bits of good news, Simplicity is putting solar on its Remuera development And maybe we can decrease methane from cows???. Can you please get Catherine to do a deep dive on Methane from “Natural” gas as opposed to coal burning. Should we decrease methane from cows while increasing it from burning more “natural” gas and importing more low waged slaves for the capitalist grossly unequal machine?
Happy Days
Patrick Medlicott
It's infuriating. He regularly blames Labour for leaving the economy in tatters but happily takes credit for the former government's climate policies, which have started to bear fruit. Then he has the gall to tell us we're "on track" for 2050. Strangely the Climate Change Commission is a little less optimistic, pointing out that what is required is actual policies designed to reduce emissions, especially in the agriculture sector. Not even more hot air.
A number of years ago I attended a talk by the wonderful Sir Paul Callaghan. He asked members of the audience to stand up if they had children living out of NZ. And then to stay standing if they also had grandchildren living elsewhere.
The numbers were sobering and I have never forgotten the moment. This would have been an educated audience (I think it was a talk sponsored by The Royal Society, focused on our future prosperity). The ‘brain drain’ is a phrase we are not hearing in the current debate…
I'm curious: did he also ask how many people in the audience were born overseas? Today's population is extremely mobile, but that doesn't mean previous generations stayed put, nor that all immigrants to NZ come as cheap-as replacements for departed Kiwis.
For clarity, I am a British immigrant to NZ, having married a Kiwi who was on his OE - we have 3 kids who are a glorious combo of NZ Māori, NZ European and European European. My mum is from France; she met my dad while working in England. My paternal grandmother, her mum, and her nan were all born in overseas too; each due to their fathers' employment.
Then you get the many Kiwi-born 2nd+ generation kids who may simply be emigrating back to their ancestral homes. It's hard keeping culture and language alive in a foreign land, and being multicultural is a tough gig when trying to understand yourself - let alone paying the bills.
I don't know how many are in the above boats, just wanted to mention it because having grandparents by videocall or phone was always my norm. I cannot regret that too much, because I wouldn't exist otherwise and nor would my kids.
That doesn't mean I can't also be pissed off about NZ's socio-economic system and structural nonsense that narrows our options.. just.. emigration isn't new, nor is it simply a brain drain, and grandchildren are beautiful humans, no matter where they're raised 💕
I too had long distance family growing up and am glad of current technology in place of the time letters took and their limitations.
And I whole hearted agree with being pissed off at the limitations here. Seems just lazy.
I would frame it not as " watch your grandkids grow up in Australia" but as "Hear the accent of your Australian grandkids as they cheer for Aussie teams"
Re Climate and Methane. Imo, a really forward thinking government would be encouraging the phasing out of an unsustainable dependency on animals as food, not trying to modify their digestive systems to suit human beings. Investing in developing plant proteins would be a more sustainable and much healthier and more ethical option, than feeding seaweed to cows, but that would take courage and imagination. Maybe this could be a topic for the Hoon?
Can't look forward while you're busy looking in the mirror.
Um Bernard - that heading for today's Kaka hurts a bit.
I know you have a thing about grand children growing up in Australia. There are many of us with no choice - They are either in Australia or further afield. And not because of lack of wealth tax, but because their parents have no money to help them out and they go away to find a way of being independent. I don't like having Skype grandchildren but I'm so pleased that three families are able to live sustainable productive lives. Many of the people I know who's children and grandchildren are away ended up raising children on our own and money was always tight. We don't seem to be on your radar.
I just wish this was a smarter country. Since Sir Paul Callaghan gave this speech in 2011 we're backward on the things he talks of. It seems more like we're a country where the wealthy want boltholes which gets the country absolutely nowhere remotely inspiring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhCAyIllnXY&t=98s
I'm concerned that the penny will never drop. I'm friends with a few boomers & whilst they are good people, they genuinely have a contempt for the younger generation. They get along with me fine but man!!! The way they talk about the younger generation is eye opening. They'll call them entitled, lazy, eff' all contribution to society, brainwashed... this includes people with grandchildren. As long as there is this pervasive prejudice, those in power have NO INCENTIVE to make things better for the younger generation, because they literally think they(young) don't deserve it.
It's so sad, it really bums me out.
I hear this too, Cristina. Young people called all sorts of awful names because they won't put up with the shitty abusive racist sexist nonsense that we swallowed in spades as young people. They want kids to toughen up but really I want to know where their hearts are.
The irony is, that young people learnt so much from the older generations. Taking a stand against apartied, the Vietnam war, even at the height of HIV crisis in the 80s, you guys advocated for treatment of the victims irrelevant of perceived morality. That's what gets me, the "kids these days" are learning from the older generations example & still being criticized. It's mind boggling.
I had no idea about this. No wonder we end up going nowhere. Awful older people. I couldn't understand this country but now you mention those mean ignorant people i see better.
Are they right wing people?
When it comes to politics yes, but in terms of work & family... I would say no...not really. It's really strange.
The rentiers don’t care, they just use their non taxed income to fly over to Australia frequently, spend NZ winter in their Aussie apartment. They are also the people who can be the “bank of Mum & Dad.”
I was absolutely appalled at the bare faced lies that NZ is on track to meet its climate commitments by our PM on morning report. I guess he is relying on most people not giving a stuff about climate change when we can indulge in the sport of kicking people when they are down.
Excuse the cynicism but I am feeling this country is populated by mean spirited , retributive, and plain mean people.
Yes my youngest daughter and her partner are planning to emigrate, I know why they are going and would fully support a capital gains tax
My sympathy and condolences for you with your whanau mostly in Melbourne.
I too have mokopuna there and I find it distressing that they are not around me for chats and hugs.
I do not blame their parents, financially it was beneficial indeed. They would not have been able to own their own home if they had stayed here.
Beyond housing issues there are a number of benefits in Oz not available here. Education, public transport, superannuation schemes, etc.
I'm not surprised at the exodus but am concerned that Aotearoa NZ is losing its cultural base and gaining imported varieties.
All immigrants, including myself, bring their baggage which may or may not be beneficial in the end.
Ka kite ano.
Thinking about this dumb country - there are children who can't learn and children who wont learn. Would it help if we package up the children who wont learns and send them to Australia?
Ooh, can of worms right there.. again harking back to previous generations, those born in the 40s, 50s & 60s could leave school pre-16 with no academic qualifications and get an entry-level service job or apprenticeship. Many of them would now be described as neurodivergent "won't learn" kids - dyslexic, ADHD, etc - but there was a pathway for them that would often be better than school, more hands-on than deskwork.
Today, kids - even those who "will learn" - are lucky to get a weekend or evening job before they turn 18. Apprenticeships are now 80% bookwork, rather than 80% tools; supermarkets won't look at applicants with daytime commitments (like school or uni), and have so many to choose from that NCEA 2 is about the lowest they need stoop to; and so on.
Kids for whom the educational system doesn't work are now effectively adrift when it comes to finding work too. All because the way in which we assess capability is inextricably linked to a crammed curriculum and the written word, rather than enabling kids to gain confidence in skills they enjoy and can apply to productive jobs.
Spot on Sophie, how we define kids 'who won't learn" & kids "who do learn" is indeed the can of worms. I do agree we need a more versatile education system that caters to many different learners. Unfortunately some people might consider that as "mediocrity" but it's part of a wider trend in our country. The definition of what is "correct" or "how things should be" is getting more & more narrow, so I'm glad you made those observations! That Overton window is getting smaller & smaller by the day & it's all driven by prejudice.
Mm sorry am feeling so rattled today. That Kaka heading really pressed a sad, very angry button.
I hear ya Sis. Admittedly it was quite an evocative title. That's NOT intended as a criticism either. I get what Bernard is trying to do. He is doing his best to convey to us what the consequence's are with our current economic structures. Like a lot of us Kiwis, It's also a topic that is near & dear to his heart, hence the emotive title & it affects us too because we care so much. We love our country & want our future generations to be able to grow up & thrive here.
Thanks heaps Christina. I am angry that we have never been able to take an alternative path from the neoliberalism that we were forced into on the eighties. It has taken us steadily to where we are. No trickling down, only sucking up which is how it’s meant to work. I can see no future that will get us out of it.
I know Bernard feels strongly how wrong it is but because I come into the grandparent category I feel blamed for the fact the kids keep leaving and that is really wrong.
The main problem with a capital gains tax is the returns for the first few years are very low. However if this was coupled with a wealth tax, based largely on property, it will overcome this. The wealth tax can is very easy to administer based on local government valuations. It can apply to investment properties only, or even more restricted to unoccupied property, or be expanded to cater for farm properties or all properties. It can also be phased out as a CGT become more worthwhile.
I think we also need an inheritance tax. One that kicks in at a high level - say $10m. This would ensure some tax is collected from those people who have made vast profits from capital gains over the last 50 years.
The imputed income tax advocated by Susan St John and Terry Baucher looks like it could be better than wealth and capital gain tax? But still have an inheritance tax. Point is more to redistribute income and wealth than raise revenue because we are a currency issuing nation so public funding does not depend on tax income.
https://www.interest.co.nz/public-policy/129998/susan-st-john-outlines-why-she-advocating-what-she-describes-fair-economic