This is going to be a weird election.
National are making inroads on Early Childcare and a demand to review Banks while tax surveys show people wanting wealth taxes to rebuild the country…
Government-commissioned survey suggests replacing fuel tax with wealth tax – and people love it
A Government-commissioned paper into replacing petrol taxes and road user charges has thrown up some politically awkward suggestions: wealth taxes, pollution levies, and charging malls and airports.
The reason for this awkwardness is that the Government has ruled out nearly all of these new taxes to various extents – and the Opposition doesn’t want to implement them either.
More awkward still is that the research paper shows that those new taxes, even the wealth tax, were widely supported by people questioned – although the sample used for the survey is small (436) and is not representative of the wider population like a poll, making it less useful as a measure of what the country thinks.
…you can’t call it ‘Socialism by Stealth’ if the whole country is screaming for it!
It’s this weird situation where the Labour Government is again flat footed because their own achievements in Welfare amount to nothing more than ‘it’s-a-first-great-step’ level press release from a Wellington Union.
Now let’s be clear, National’s child support and Banking inquiry won’t provide any off the real solutions the problems demand, but they are gaining political traction because Labour has done sweet fuck all in being transformative.
If Labour are to win this election, they also have to be pushing against the status quo they have managed for half a decade.
Jacinda and Grant were great in a crisis, but politically cautious domestically and that cation has seen us not live up to the promise of being transformative.
Chippy dumped the ideology for delivery, but he can’t ignore vision, and right now, Labour has very little vision and that is why they are open to attack on issues that are brand and butter Labour.
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CGT – on all but the family home and possibly bach. Labour chickened out of this and the need for it couldn’t be clearer – let’s ping these multiple property owners who, let’s face it, are in it for the capital gain. People only need one home to live in and property should not be a source of speculative “wealth”. What’s not to understand. A socalled wealth tax will just mean that the wealthy will continue to hide their wealth in various ways.
Not everyone wants to be a home owner so if people are penalized for having a rental property ere are going to live . The tate are not building enough and even if they did they have proven to be a poor landlord as they are slow to over on anti social clients due to fear of a backlash.
I am not against CGT on those that turn over their property in less than 2 years as they are speculators and can factor in the tax into their business.
A wealth tax would be better since it would be levied on a regular basis – annually, half yearly or quarterly. The trouble with CGT is that it doesn’t seem to discourage property price increases. This is probably because it is a bit like “slamming the stable door after the horse has bolted”.
The comment Jacinda made was telling.
“there is no political will to introduce a Capital Gains Tax”
It told me she was unable to get a majority vote to change this.
I looked at the pecuniary interests of politicians a few years ago and over half of them owned more than one house.
There goes the problem.
But no, no conflict of interest right……..
Why does anyone continue beating the Labour is Left dead horse? To hasten the advent of No Zealand Wars II? Hard right neoliberals since Douglas.
Labout are against a review into banking despite all other parties wanting one.
Labour are against a review on forestry despite most party wanting one .NZF have been quite on this
Labour do not want to go to deep into the fishing industry along with NZF
Labour took power from children’s commissioner despite all other parties and NGO wanting him to have power to check Oranga Tamariki.
Labour has vested interest in all these areas and with the polls so close do not want to ruffle any feathers
they know which side their bread is buttered
CGT. CGT. CGT
The current Labour Government will not introduce CGT,they have one aim only and that’s to win the next election.
” …you can’t call it ‘Socialism by Stealth’ if the whole country is screaming for it! ”
Interesting that finally even it is just a small polling sample want to finally make the organisations who pocket so much of our money in excessive profits make a contribution towards the costs of running the country and the need for huge infrastructure investment.
Covid , the profits and price gouging going on in an inflationary environment by the usual suspects and recent cataclysmic storms have shown our vulnerability to crisis events and bought into focus that the obscene profits that are being made while we are crushed under interest rate rises and the overall cost to live week by week.
Unregulated capitalism and its excesses in times of disaster and economic pain have focused many minds on how this system does nothing or gives nothing back to the country and its people it exploits.
Grant Robertson’s main concern is his legacy of being a better economic manager than the National party and that includes managing debt levels and keeping a conservative approach and not being seen as reckless and irresponsible.
I think events have changed the current narrative and the role of the state that for so long has retreated from serving the greater good of the people and applied polices of austerity that has starved investment in so many areas and shown our real vulnerability to deal with major events something that neo liberal policies do not provide for or encourage.
If it does not show a profit or a return then it does not get done !
That approach is just not going to cut it.
Bank Profit Export Tax
Financial Transaction Tax
Alphabet Revenue Tax
Labour has not been left or left leaning in a long time. They are conservatives clad in bright red. The end.
Career politicians who wouldn’t make in the real world.