Roosting chorus: NZ backs Australia vs China
NZ protests to China directly over false image of Australian soldier being reused by Beijing official; Parker suggests trust rate may have to rise if wealthy open trusts to avoid new 39c rate
TLDR: Hard on the heels of China thumping Australia’s wine industry with big new tariffs, New Zealand has joined with its Trans-Tasman neighbour to protest against China’s latest ‘wolf warrior’ incident aimed at humiliating Australia.
PM Scott Morrison was outraged yesterday when a Chinese official retweeted a photo-shopped image of an Australian soldier committing a war crime. PM Jacinda Ardern said this morning New Zealand had registered its concern over the use of the image directly with Chinese authorities.
"It was an unfactual post and, of course, that would concern us. So, that is something that we have raised directly in the manner that New Zealand does when we have such concerns,” Ardern said.
Elsewhere, David Parker suggested the Government could hike the trust tax rate of 33c to match the new 39c top income tax rate as a last resort if there is another rush to divert income into trusts, as there was from 1999 to 2008.
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