Marcelo R Santos: What if we taxed what people spend, not what they earn?

When people talk about tax fairness, the focus is almost always on income. How much the rich earn, how heavily that income should be taxed, and how to make sure lower earners are protected. But there is an older idea that is quietly starting to get attention again. What if taxes were based not on what people earn, but on what they spend?

Richard Meade: What ‘Jack and Jill’ can teach us about the (un)fairness of capital gains taxes

In New Zealand, capital gains tax debates spring up like zombies. Each time they get killed off, back to life they come.

New Zealand already has some types of capital gains taxes – such as the bright-line test (which taxes residential land bought and sold within two years) and taxes on other various activities. So the debate is more about expanding taxes on capital gains, rather than introducing a new tax.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: Ignore the tax letter by these 'wealthy' Kiwis

Let me give you a bunch of reasons why you can- and should- ignore this letter from 97 ‘wealthy’ Kiwis asking the Government to tax them more.

This is the letter that starts: “We write as people who are frustrated with how much tax we pay. We want to pay more”.

They do not want to pay more themselves. What they actually want is other rich people to pay more tax. And you don’t have to take my word for it, I'll quote the guy who founded Ecostore, Malcom Rands, who signed the letter.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: It's clear there's a tax coming

There’s a tax coming, there’s definitely a tax coming. 

And out of morbid fascination, I can’t wait to see how Labour goes about trying this one on. 

David Parker today released his research into how much tax Kiwis paid and he's got the headlines he wanted. They’re all screaming that 350 of the richest Kiwis pay half the rate of tax that the rest of us do. Only 8.9 percent, compared to our 20 percent.

Now this is where it gets tricky for David Parker, because he’s counting capital gains that aren’t  realised.