Chloe Swarbrick beat the living bejesus out of David Seymour in Parliament today in a savage smack down so epic that at one stage I felt like I needed to call the police to intervene.
David was doing his usual ‘the rich are the real victims here’ bullshit…
As MPs debated the annual rates of income tax on Tuesday night, Seymour took the time to highlight his opposition to the current tax system, because only a small chunk of Kiwis pay almost a quarter of income tax.
“People who earn $150,000-plus – that is 3 percent of New Zealanders – pay 24 percent of all of the income tax in this country,” Seymour said, citing Inland Revenue.
Swarbrick could be heard describing it as “progressive” – and Seymour agreed, but perhaps not in the same way, sparking a clash of fundamental political beliefs.
“Well, Chlöe Swarbrick, not much gets past you,” he said. “Actually, of course it’s progressive, but the point of the story is I don’t think most people realise quite how progressive our current tax rates are, that 3 percent of New Zealanders end up paying 24 percent of all income tax.”
Swarbrick asked how it compares internationally.
“Oh, Chlöe Swarbrick, she’s saying, ‘What about internationally?’ And that’s the thing that the left love to do, when things aren’t going their way they say, ‘Oh, there’s 200 countries in the world, I think I can think of one where things are worse’,” Seymour said.
“That’s not the kind of aspirational culture I think New Zealand should have.”
A 2017 report by Inland Revenue comparing New Zealand’s tax system internationally showed we have a “relatively low top personal tax rate” but collect the “fifth-highest amount of personal income tax as a percentage of GDP” among OECD countries.
Swarbrick pointed out that New Zealand was mentioned as a tax haven in the Panama Papers in 2016. The revelations showed foreigners used New Zealand to hide their wealth, which led to stronger rules around foreign trusts.
…here’s where it gets real good…
Swarbrick told Newshub Seymour’s point “proves the opposite” of what he wants it to.
“It shows we have a deeply unequal society where a tiny proportion are paid that much more than the other 97 percent,” she said. “As for all the narratives out there, I dare any politician to try and tell me that cleaners, teachers, nurses and our emergency workforce are not hard-working.”
She highlighted Treasury data showing 42 percent of the wealthiest New Zealanders are paying a smaller effective tax rate than lowest-income New Zealanders.
“The wealthiest 10 percent of New Zealanders own nearly 70 percent of all the wealth – which is mostly in multiple properties. The bottom 50 percent of all of us own just 2 percent. That wealth inequality compounds. Poverty is expensive. Wealth pay dividends.”
ACTs sudden rise because of National’s implosion means much of their crazy far undergrad right wing policy is not being examined at all…
- Cut and freeze the Minimum wage
- Interest back on all student loans
- No Kiwsaver subsidy
- Cancel winter energy payment
- Dump all climate crisis legislation
- no more best start payments for families with new borns
- cut welfare payments
- no tax credits for research and development
- cuts to working for families
- $7b a year cut in public services
- Abolish Maori seats
- Abolish Human Rights Commission
The problem is ACT are so fucking right wing that the idea of them + National being the answer to 2023’s issues could only be true if we have been invaded by UFOs and they are demanding all members of the Government must be immediately handed over as human sacrifices to our new Alien overlords.
In that scenario, voting ACT + National in makes sense.
Outside that scenario, no.
Once left wing and centrist voters realise just how far right ACT really are, the fear of keeping them from Government will outweigh whatever sin Jacinda has committed.
ACT’s sudden and uncritical rise will hurt National and win Labour the 2023 election.
It’s easy to cry wolf when the wolf is a brain hungry zombie dog hunting for human flesh in a premature infants ward.
David should think twice before fighting with Chloe, she will bury him.
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No. This was a political and intellectual cripple fight from 2 individuals that should know better but didn’t have a duty of care. The ideological circular argument of reallocating the ‘pie’ from some to many or vice versa fails to acknowledge that the level of ‘pie’ is already insufficient to feed all in NZ.
We are a poor nation. We just choose to ignore this fact for some retarded nationalist notion. The cult of (little) Aotearoa the country that could. In order to have a better society we have to be a more wealthy nation. This requires long term strategic thinking and sacrifice to transform our society and economy. Our feckless, lazy politicians aren’t capable of grasping this concept or in the odd case of realisation can’t really be assed.
Hi Franky
Snap! NZ is not poor, Seymour gave you the reason!. 3% of NZ’ers feel they entitled to keep most of the income generated in NZ for themselves, that why they have to pay 24% of the tax. Not to mention the dodgers living off capital gains and paying no tax. Greed has clouded your perception of reality! Seem like generation X will bring some correction to level the playing field. Seems like the politicians are finally doing their work going after the loafers and tax evaders, the so called capital class!
I wish she would bury him more often.
” Cut and freeze the Minimum wage
Interest back on all student loans
No Kiwsaver subsidy
Cancel winter energy payment
Dump all climate crisis legislation
no more best start payments for families with new borns
cut welfare payments
no tax credits for research and development
cuts to working for families
$7b a year cut in public services
Abolish Maori seats
Abolish Human Rights Commission
That is the kind of list that should be drip feed onto Tui billboards just to remind everyone what these evil people actually want to impose on the good people of Aotearoa.
Seymour like to be seen as ” compassionate over his push for legal suicide which is why just reading that list i even more convinced he was really peddling state sanctioned murder dressed up as compassion.
You can’t endorse these ideas and not be an evil capitalist.
Imagine the New Zealand of today if ACT were government and implemented all of those policies Seymour suggested. The haves will have razor wire all around their properties. Oh wait, South Africa already have that Ms Du Plessis Allan. Smithers Seymour should stick to his comedy routine of twerking.
” Cut and freeze the Minimum wage
Interest back on all student loans
No Kiwsaver subsidy
Cancel winter energy payment
Dump all climate crisis legislation
no more best start payments for families with new borns
cut welfare payments
no tax credits for research and development
cuts to working for families
$7b a year cut in public services
Abolish Maori seats
Abolish Human Rights Commission
That is the kind of list that should be drip feed onto Tui billboards just to remind everyone what these evil people actually want to impose on the good people of Aotearoa.
Seymour like to be seen as ” compassionate over his push for legal suicide which is why just reading that list i even more convinced he was really peddling state sanctioned murder dressed up as compassion.
You can’t endorse these ideas and not be an evil capitalist.
Parliament is irrelevant on a melting-burning planet.
Actually, parliament is a major obstruction on a melting-burning planet.
Nailed it – sadly.
We have species die off, filthy rivers, an economy based on transport, landfills filling up and energy demand rising because the rich power brokers control of politicians, the news /propaganda and deliberately impede any political moves to change the fiasco referred to as progress, which has nothing to do with social betterment.
Capitalism is what Seymore is about and in spite of the destruction it has cemented in place, he begs for more of it.
Insult China with more of the Crap about Xinjiang and see how the capitalist economy fares when China stops taking our unhealthy milk products.
Kiwis just have trouble seeing reality.
Lockdown did good things for the environment and showed many activities are not only unnecessary but dangerous.
Giving banks $31 billion hoping for trickle down shows just how helpless a government can be if they allow themselves to be pushed around
So what sort of govt will get us on a track to environmental restoration and fairer distribution of food and wealth.
None in sight.
NACT, Greed, lies and destruction are incestuous bedfellows. They will fuck anything for short term gratification
So on we go to a deteriorating prospect in spite of the plain words of young Chloe.
XR have guts and foresight that may point to future wide spread rebellion.
It may take food getting scare to trigger reality.
You can’t eat cars nor money.
I listened to Chloe this morning on RNZ she smashed the housing issue Corin Dann was lost for words and I found him to be a bit dismissive however what she said was right on the button, its funny how the truth hurts.
Wait till the Greens get their health policies lined up.
The green party workshop at their summer policy Gathering in Kaiapoi Last weekend was very worth being at.
If the ideas put forward get put into action then our health system won’t be 41st in the WHO rankings and be near the top of the rankings. Access to all Health/welfare health related issues will be basically turned on it’s head so watch this space.
Agree with ya Mosa see-more also claims to care about poor Maori kids getting a good education highlighting his charter schools policy but all the cuts he wants aren’t exactly going to help the Maori kids he claims to care so much about.
“‘What about internationally?’ And that’s the thing that the left love to do, when things aren’t going their way they say, ‘Oh, there’s 200 countries in the world, I think I can think of one where things are worse’,” Seymour said.”
Is it any different to ACT and National finding negative ways to compare NZ to the outside world? The endless references to how we rate with Australia. I forget which country we are supposed to feel inferior to when it comes to handling COVID. Australia? Sweden? Samoa? Taiwan? It keeps changing.
Swarbrick is an ever rising political force and in my humble opinion she’s on her way to greatness. She’s what the young of today’s AO/NZ desperately need for their tomorrows. And given our dirty little history, our dirty little politicians and our dirty little so called ‘titans of industry’ she’d be well advised to be very, very careful.
seymour, on the other hand struggles to come up to idiot status. If there’s something lessor than an idiot then that’s him. Does someone need to tell him that roger douglas’s game is up and he can stop using muppets like seymour to try and convince us that it isn’t?
seymour’s on our six figures plus entitlements though, so there’s something to think about as you live from pay day to pay day.
rnz
“More than a third of people living pay day to pay day – study”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/439097/more-than-a-third-of-people-living-pay-day-to-pay-day-study
I thought Swarbricks comment about NZ being a tax haven 2016 was very good international point and something See-more didn’t give a toss about and nor did dodgy John who is now gone.
Probably thought it was a compliment about how cosmopolitan we are and a player in international finance.
The shyster serpent is still slithering around banks , a sector he has worked for over decades.
Swarbrick has the millstone around her neck of being the face of legalising cannabis and she failed…not by much but a failure for the referendum nonetheless.
She is hogtied until with the stench of failure until she can think of another referendum topic she can win….how about all maori and PI kids not to sit school exams as its showing them as failing as a group against white/asian kids, which means its a racist system, that must be a winner?
And Seymour has the millstone of the failed pro gun lobbyists, wealthy rich white folk etc
Give me Chloe every single day of the week.
Since Chloe aced the more improbable challenge of winning the Auckland Central seat, the bit about Chloe having a stench of failure is off the mark. At the same time as she was campaigning she was one of the few change campaigners who was effectively putting up reasoned arguments in the face of a hypocritical assault led primarily by religious nutters and dubious propaganda.
If your last comment wasn’t likely to be just a racist jibe, it would be worth debating the merits of re-evaluating the worth of school exams.
I just hope that if swarbrick ever gets into a position of power that she doesnt turn into Jacinda, like how Jacinda turned into Judith.
Lmao, Seymour ran circles around her… “told Newshub”, couldn’t think of a reply on the spot.
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