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?

Kerre Woodham: Taxation is a finely balanced thing

We know times are tough. We know that we're in a period of rebuilding, we know that there are green shoots starting to come through. We're looking towards the end of 2025 as a time when things will turn around, when things will start to improve, and things will start to get better on a micro level in our own households, and on a macro level when it comes to the government.

Sir Bob Jones: Taxation realities

Over my half century as a newspaper columnist, beginning back in the mid 1960s, whenever my topic was an economic one I took pains to stress that economics is emphatically not a hard science of absolute rules.

Initially, that was scorned and to some extent, some commentators still treat it that way. Instead, I stressed it’s a social science about human behaviour and as we all know, and endure, human behaviour is rarely rational.

The tale I’m about to recount is a fascinating illustration about the economic damage of direct (income) taxations.

Dr Eric Crampton: Shakedown finances

There are a lot of problems with the Paul Goldsmith / Willie Jackson media bargaining bill.

I hit on some of those over in the Stuff papers this week.

A snippet:

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 14/3/24

Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic development

The text reproduced below appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 29/1/24

Seymour raises tax and Treaty issues in his “state of the nation” speech (which has not been posted on the Beehive site)

Just one statement has been posted on the government’s official website since Attorney-General Judith Collins announced the appointment of a new High Court Judge late last week.

It deals with education and the government’s aims to get better results from school students.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 19/12/23

Haste is urged to repeal tax legislation – and to stymie publication of the first IRD report on tax system’s fairness

Political journalists working for the mainstream media have demonstrated since the election that they need scant prompting to go looking for muck to fling at a coalition government they make no secret of disdaining.

On No Right Turn, Idiot/Savant has given them a prompt anyway.

Bob Jones: Taxation

A recent poll claimed 60% of New Zealanders support a wealth tax.

That’s no surprise. My lifelong observation on people’s attitude to taxation is they’re all for taxes so long as they affect someone else and not them.

Brian Easton: Ignoring Tax Trade-offs

Public policy frequently suffers because we don’t look at alternatives.

Thus far the Labour Party’s only ‘new’ election (economic) policy is to remove GST from fruit and vegetables.

Even the accompanying promise of adjusting Working for Families is much in line with what it has being doing in the last six years. It is also an acknowledgement that the government has not been able to improve the scheme despite an almost universal agreement by the knowledgeable that the sixteen-year-old scheme is neither efficient nor equitable. The Key-English Government could not solve the conundrum either. The promise to offer free dental care for under 30-year-olds is also an extension of past policies.

Point of Order: Budget 2023.....

....a slew of press statements and an improvement in the Treasury’s fiscal outlook

It’s the no-frills budget (says Labour) or the blowout budget (says National).

But let’s bypass much of the slew of information released today and turn to the Treasury’s Budget and Economic Fiscal Update, which says the Government’s fiscal outlook is expected to improve over the forecast period (which covers the next four years).

Point of Order: Can Grant Robertson work his magic to lift living standards and win the election?

After an initial upswing in its support, the Hipkins-led Labour government is losing ground. The April Roy Morgan poll saw it registering only 30% support, down 3 points from March and two below National. The defection of Maiki Whatiri to Te Pati Maori came as a shock, but is seen as a further boost to the ranks of her new hosts who may win more seats, with the Roy Morgan sampling tracing their support to 4.5%, up 2.5 points.

Point of Order: IRD Minister’s tax report shows (no surprises) the benefits of getting much of your wealth from capital gains

We have waited patiently to post this ministerial press statement and some of the reaction, because the announcement was under embargo until 12.30pm and it was not then posted promptly on the Beehive website.

At first blush, the statement gives good cause for wealthier New Zealanders to brace to have more of their money taken from them by a government with an increasing debt to settle and an inclination to show “fairness” in its tax policies.