John Tamihere: ‘Tax the rich’ will be a Te Pāti Māori election kingmaker - or breaker

Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere says taxing the rich and giving to the poor is an election bottom line. Photo / NZME

Taxing the rich will be an election issue for Te Pāti Māori and will be non-negotiable deal breaker if they hold the balance of power come October, as the polls are predicting.

Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere said the party had a number of bottom lines that they would not budge on. Tax was one of them.

The Government is playing down Revenue Minister David Parker’s hit list of 300+ of the wealthiest Kiwis and how much tax they pay. Although Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has ruled out a capital gains tax in next month’s budget, it will be included in Te Pāti Māori’s election manifesto.

Revenue Minister David Parker poured cold water on tax rumours. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“The fact that 2 per cent of Kiwis own 50 per cent of our wealth, we now know how they get it and hold it,” Tamihere said.

“That is why we have an unequal society, because we have an unfair tax regime.

“Capital gains tax must follow because we are out of whack with the developed world in terms of our tax packages.”

Tamihere said in plain language, the top end continue to reap the benefits while the poor end of town is cemented to poverty.

“The tax system is rigged. The report shows the wealthiest are paying an effective tax rate of 9.4 per cent, while the average person is paying 20.2 per cent,” Tamihere said.

“This is a disgrace. The Government must immediately introduce a range of wealth taxes starting with a comprehensive capital gains tax.”

Tamihere said the National, Labour or Act parties were “not courageous enough to put on a capital gains tax but it will be a bottom line for Te Pāti Māori”.

He said Te Pāti Māori will release a raft of policies leading up to the October election, including a “ghost house” tax of 2 per cent on the capital value of a vacant or empty house, if they remain unoccupied for 3 months or longer in any one year.

In Auckland alone, according to the 2018 census, there were 39,000 unoccupied dwellings in the greater Auckland area and 196,506 homes were left unoccupied across the country.

Te Pāti Māori want a capital gains tax on all property set at 2 per cent of the appreciation per annum – other than on the whānau home.