Is it time to hear what the Kiwi billionaires think should be done about taxes? Photo / 123rf, File For Travel - Nov 15
Real change
Tax is not a theoretical issue. It’s to do with whether you can get that expensive medicine that could save your life. It’s to do with whether we can pay nurses more so they stay in New Zealand, whether roads can be made safer, and whether we can send help when disasters occur. Tax is the income we use to make our personal lives better. Ordinary people are paying our full share but those who have become wealthy due to our inadequate tax policies are not. Does anyone think that’s fair? Yet National will require wealthy people to pay even less tax. It’s time to demand from our politicians that they change the tax rules so that we all contribute fairly to pay for the things we need. The most influential voice in that demand would come from those with the clout and the power – the multi-millionaires.
Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.
Where it goes
Are the right questions being asked when considering increasing the tax take from high-wealth New Zealanders? Should we not be considering how this wealth is being spent? If it is on the NZ economy, supporting NZ companies, products, charities, services, etc, it could be argued that this is the same or more productive use of the money than giving it to the Government to spend. Perhaps capital gains on income earned outside New Zealand is an idea that could be considered for higher taxation of the wealthy, along with land and property not earning income and therefore not subject to tax.
Helen Glyde, Hamilton.
Tax needed
Climate change mitigation, building climate-resistant infrastructure, plugging pay gaps with Australia for nurses and teachers - all these suggest the wealthy, who can afford it, should pay more tax, not less. The rest of us also need to contribute. Cutting taxes, as the National Party promises to do, just doesn’t cut it. The Government’s tax review is well overdue but needs to be followed up.
Gehan Gunasekara, Stonefields.
Equitable opportunity
The recently released research by the IRD has clearly stated that 311 individuals reviewed paid less to IRD than those with lower incomes. It would appear that the difference is due to the source of the income and how that source is taxed. Therefore, if everyone with income from a particular source is taxed at the same rate, that would indicate an apparently equitable taxation system. If the various sources of income are equally available to all New Zealanders, then there does not seem to be an issue. If a Government wants to change a tax rate or institute a new tax to increase/decrease its revenue, that’s a different issue entirely.
Dunstan Sheldon, Rototuna.
Doing our duty
A significant part of the “income” wealthy people receive is from capital gains. Otherwise described, the value of money is dropping, taking with it the value of wages and salaries, and consumer prices, and asset values are holding up. This has been a significant effect since about 1982. The problem is caused by interest rates being too low, as has been the case since 1972 when NZ last ran a current account surplus. Decent interest rates are important to discipline spending decisions. The two things the Reserve Bank must target are first current account balance and then asset price stability. Asset prices will drop a long way in getting us to current account balance. Unfortunately, our Ponzi scheme is at a difficult stage. That will not fix the tax issue. We are better off borrowing from the wealthy and settling with gift and estate duty. Tax is a dumb way to keep the money supply tight. We are facing all sorts of crises, like global warming and mass extinction. It is far better to duty things that are hurting us and our environment than use tax.
Bill Macky, Bayswater.
Prosperity ho
David Seymour’s glib assertion that no country can tax its way to prosperity doesn’t necessarily stand scrutiny. Scandinavian countries, notably Denmark, have both some of the world’s highest taxes and highest prosperity scores. That’s not to say New Zealand doesn’t have wasteful spending - we do. But it’s time to look much more closely at the resourceful Scandinavians who, like us, face the challenges of isolation and small scale, yet lead the world in the quality of government services, infrastructure, and wellbeing. Higher taxes can be well justified if they are deployed intelligently and lead to the betterment of citizens’ lives.
Ernie Newman, Cambridge.
Lesson of war
As Australia and New Zealand each remember the great cost of war, it is worth considering that very few people anywhere in the world now have any clear idea why the great nations of Europe, all claiming to worship the same Christian God, should have chosen to engage in the mass slaughter of what was called the Great War. Then, as now in the current war in Europe, the reasons may have seemed plausible at the time but were the options for peace seriously pursued at the time amid the relentless clamour for war? In his memoir, The “Last Fighting Tommy”, Harry Patch, the last British frontline soldier, writes that after four years of organised murder, the statesmen of Europe had to get around a table and sort their issues out. Why couldn’t they have done this four years earlier, before millions had died or were cruelly injured? What would Harry Patch say about war again in Europe? Where are the voices for peace? Was nothing learned?
William O’Donnell, Sandringham.
Point taken
Great article (NZ Herald, April 26) on tech problems and solutions for green hydrogen production, but no mention of where one gets the green electricity. That is not a problem if we utilise the electricity presently going to the Tiwai smelter. This amounts to about 6 billion kWh annually or 13 per cent of total annual production. For years, Rio Tinto has been threatening to shut the smelter down unless it can get a better price for electricity. To preserve jobs and get some income from this electricity, New Zealand has always complied. Presently $0,0354 per kWh or $1.77 for 50 kWh is paid, which is the amount of electricity needed to produce 1kg of green hydrogen by electrolysis. The price of green hydrogen in the US is US$16 per kg As the demand for green hydrogen is rapidly increasing around the world, the production of green hydrogen would appear to be a much more profitable use of the Tiwai electricity compared with aluminum production, and probably minimal if any job losses. Also, green hydrogen production is associated with minimal CO2 production.
Don Guadagni, Beachlands.
Not for turning
The article by Richard Prebble (NZ Herald, April 26) aroused me to wonder whether Christopher Luxon has started to employ Jacinda Ardern’s redundant army of political advisors. The sickening about-face from his office on his clear and unequivocal announcement that National would not consider working with the Māori Party and would be most unlikely to go into coalition with the Greens, has left a grievous wound on his credibility, just when it was starting to get some traction. Please, we don’t want a pale blue version of Labour. We’ve got to get off this ruinous road and tip-toeing and back-flipping will not do it.
Graham Steenson, Whakatāne.
Rating down
I have today had a real estate agent’s flyer delivered to my letterbox which stated 10 recent house sale prices. Nine of the 10 were well below the current CV, in some cases by as much as $1m. The tenth price was just $100,000 over CV. I wonder when Auckland Council will be dropping the CVs accordingly and presumably taking a hit to the rates tale?
C J Johnstone, Grey Lynn.
Taking the bait
In the early 1960s, a friend and I used to row a dinghy about 50 metres out from just north of the Takapuna reef, anchor and catch 30 snapper by hand line in one hour. We stopped fishing after an hour because it would take too long to clean any more fish. Understanding what our fishing used to be, you cannot wonder why we want to see bottom trawling banned from the commercial killing of the marine environment in the Hauraki Gulf.
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
Keeping abreast
On Sunday I wrote about the price of chicken breasts at New World, which you kindly published (NZ Herald, April 25) with the question “who’s saving?” Today, the price is $15.49/kg, an increase of $3.50/kg or 29 per cent in less than a week. Nobody on the consuming end is saving – maybe the producers and retailers are, but how about a fair go, guys? If the CBI (chicken breast index) is taken into account, then the outlook is bleak indeed.
Paul Parker, Stanmore Bay.
On tax
The tax review - no surprises there. It’s been going on forever. Life is not always fair but now’s a good time to stop the rot. Reg Dempster, Albany.
The main problem in regard to Labour Party policies or statements is that it’s not what it is telling us that we should be worried about but what it is not telling us. Be wary of statements saying it is not considering a capital gains tax. Mike Baker, Tauranga.
On Luxon
Richard Prebble is on the money about Christopher Luxon. We’ve had enough of bland, non-committal, mean-nothing statements from spin doctors. Say what you think, Christopher. Steve Dransfield, Karori.
On parenting
There are those parents who encourage and support their children to do well at school which will result in gainful employment and lead to productive and responsible lives thereafter, and then there are the others. Alan Walker, St Heliers.
On America
Biden: Let’s Finish America. Trump: Let’s make me great again. Voters: Let us Netflix and chill. Sivaswamy Mohanakrishnan, Mt Roskill.
On crime
Police Ten 7 is getting canned, I wonder why? Here’s a title for a new programme: “Ram Raid 24 Seven”. Different name, same suspects. G Spencer, Patumāhoe.
NZ v Australia: New data reveals who’s doing better at the cost of living
I’d be happy to leave this dysfunctional, increasingly backwards country for Oz actually. Leaving myself open here to the obvious reply but I don’t care. Douglas H.
It’s okay, mate. You’re amongst friends. There are quite a few of us waiting to see what happens in October. Kim B.
The big difference with Oz is it is a much richer country, people are paid a lot higher, and most people can live a normal life on their income, unlike here. We are buying properties over there and are planning the move. Much more opportunities, forward policy thinking, and the kids don’t want to come back to New Zealand. Mark I.
Food prices are where it hurts us the most as we all need to eat. NZ at 11.3 per cent food price inflation is 41 per cent higher than Aussie’s 8 per cent. Considering we produce almost all our own food, this is homegrown inflation and not imported as Robertson and Hipkins will tell you. Richard C.
We are in Oz right now visiting relatives and I have noticed how much more costly their supermarkets are compared to last time we visited four years ago. The news over here covers exactly the same issues as at home so NZ is not alone - high inflation, house prices too high, shortage of houses, staff shortages and higher food prices. Lyn M.
People think Oz is the land of milk and honey but take a look at the likes of Reddit and they got same problems as us, i.e. rampant house prices, greedy landlords, traffic, crime, etc. Grass ain’t always greener though admittedly the weather makes it look that way. Heather A.
Electricity costs have risen almost 9% since June last year.