David Farrar: Labour’s inflation tax

Simeon Brown pointed out:

“According to Labour’s own modelling, where house prices rise by 3 per cent and inflation sits at 2 per cent, the vast majority of the revenue collected from Labour’s Capital Gains Tax comes only from inflation rather than real gains.

“Under those conditions, a couple who buy an $800,000 rental and sell it five years later for $927,000 would have to pay a tax of $35,600. Once inflation is accounted for, that amounts to an effective tax rate of 81 per cent on the couple’s real capital gain.

David Farrar: Heard that before

The Post reports:

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says he is not aiming to make state spending and taxation 33% of the economy, despite his party’s fiscal strategy suggesting it would eventually get there. …

National has attacked the 33% figure, arguing it shows that Labour will need to enact more than just the CGT, which is only expected to raise $1.5 billion within the forecast period ‒ which would not get anywhere close to raising revenue to 33%.

Ryan Bridge: Hey Labour, NZ is not Australia

Hey Labour. NZ is not Australia.

To justify their capital gains tax, they point across the ditch.

"Australia introduced a capital gains tax in 1985, and its economy and incomes have kept growing."

Troy Bowker: Labour Capital Gains Tax Is Actually a Tax On Inflation

Labour governments tend to boost inflation. Chris Hipkins now wants to tax inflation as well.

Labour’s proposed Capital Gains Tax risks taxing inflation rather than genuine wealth creation. By applying a 28% tax to nominal gains on residential and commercial property acquired from 1 July 2027, the policy would tax increases in asset values caused by rising prices as well as real investment returns.

Pee Kay: A Capital Gains Tax is never about economic fairness!

New taxes are a hard sell, so how do you make the unpalatable palatable?

It is quite simple. You simply employ the politician’s oldest political tricks in the book, sleight of hand and deliberate obfuscation.

And labour are well practiced in the art of sleight of hand and obfuscation

Mike's Minute: Labour's "splash the cash" mentality will solve nothing

What is the matter with Labour? They are giving me free doctor’s visits – I don’t want them or need them.

Now they are giving me free prescriptions… it’s tens of millions of dollars we don’t have, handed out to people who don’t need it. Some people need it – give it to them.

You are literally wasting money giving these things to anyone on a half-decent salary.

Chris Trotter: Hard Choices.

If she is serious about balancing the books, and restoring Pay Equity, Labour’s finance spokesperson, Barbara Edmonds, cannot avoid imposing austerity on her party’s own voters.

LABOUR COULD WIN IN 2026, but the fiscal and monetary conservatism of its finance spokesperson makes victory increasingly unlikely. Barbara Edmonds promise to “balance the books” hasn’t just handed over Labour’s hopes of electoral victory to Fortune as hostages, it’s sold them into slavery.

David Farrar: ACT’s 10 reasons to oppose a CGT

ACT has listed ten reasons to oppose Labour’s Capital Gains Tax. They are: