He’s in trouble for selling his Wellington apartment and making money off it. But heseemingly sold his apartment only because we gave him that much jippo earlier this year for choosing to live in it over the taxpayer-provided accommodation at Premier House.
In the end, the pressure was so intense that he caved and announced he’d move into Prem House. And we were happy. Until we saw that he was going to make nearly $180,000 off the sale of that apartment. Now we’re not happy.
Now, we wonder if we would prefer him to keep living in the apartment and drawing an accommodation allowance of $52,000 a year instead of getting that much richer from selling it because he’s rich enough, dammit. What we would prefer most is if he wasn’t rich.
Luxon obviously didn’t want to live in Premier House. Why would he? Upstairs, the place is just a draughty, cold student flat with a better address and better paint job on the outside. The man’s been making megabucks since before millennials even entered the workforce. He probably can’t remember what it’s like to be cold in your own lounge.
Now, the 35-year-old carpets have been replaced, there’s a new bed so Luxon won’t have to sleep on the same one as Jacinda and Clarke presumably, and Sky TV’s been installed.
And now he’s in trouble for that.
“Are you enjoying the Sky TV?” one reporter asked him, as if it’s an outrage to have wasted money on such frippery. Perhaps we’d all be happier if we kiddy-blocked the fun stuff like movies and sport, and allowed Luxon access only to the international news channels? But only because it’s important for prime ministers to see Iran launching missiles into Israel in real time, not because we think he deserves such luxuries on the taxpayer dime.
And then, as if all of that wasn’t enough, the conspiracy theory emerged.
Did you know Luxon would’ve paid tax on the sale of that apartment if only he hadn’t changed the law to save himself paying the tax?
When he bought the place in 2020, the bright-line test was at five years. He will sell the apartment (when it settles) this year. That’s only four years. That earns a tax of $70,000 on the sale.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced he will move into Premier House in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
But his Government changed the bright-line test back to two years, effective from July 1. Only three months ago.
And that is how Christopher Luxon avoided a giant tax on selling his apartment.
Or, maybe the truth is more boring. National were always going to change the bright-line test on July 1. They promised it in August last year, before the election.
Back then, as far as we know, Luxon was still planning to live in his apartment rather than Premier House. It wasn’t till February this year – when the bright-line promise was already six months old – that we forced him to agree to move.
But it’s out there now. The story is that Luxon is a rich prick who didn’t pay tax when he made a squillion off selling his apartment so he could live for free off the taxpayer and then demand Sky TV as well. The cheek of it.
It’s a much sexier story than the alternative version. That’s just “PM moves into cold flat provided by taxpayer and sells apartment for a capital gain after doing extensive renovations costing unknown amount, thereby possibly negating but definitely reducing said gain”. How dull.
Luxon’s lesson is the politics of envy is alive and well and rich-prick politicians can’t win when it comes to property.
