Can Greens & Labour be taken seriously on Tax & the new Taxes the Left needs right now
Revenue Minister David Parker reckons the wealthiest New Zealanders are not paying their fair share of tax, and he would like to start a debate about whether that is fair.
So, while Labour makes the richest amongst us $1TRILLION DOLLARS RICHER, let’s examine the crumbs they are bribing the rest of us with…
Government’s mega benefit boost has arrived: Here’s how much incomes are up
Beneficiaries and low-income earners can breathe a sigh of relief now that a raft of policies putting more money in their pockets has finally arrived.
As of April 1, benefit rates increase by between $20 and $42 per adult per week compared to July last year, while the minimum wage rises from $20 per hour to $21.20, and Working for Families tax credits are bumped up too.
Then in May, the Winter Energy Payment returns until October – $20.46 a week for eligible single people with no dependents and $31.82 a week for couples and people with dependent children.
…what’s never pointed out in this bullshit propaganda is that these increases barely keep up with inflation and for most beneficiaries, the MSD claws back the increases so most will get a few dollars after MSD takes its cut.
The only silver lining is the half priced public transport as that actually bypasses MSD and puts money straight into people’s pockets without MSD taking their cut.
So Labour enrich the richest with $1Trillion dollars and the rest of us get some crumbs and told to be grateful.
Is this the best we can hope for?
Norman Kirk famously said,
“there are four things that matter to people: they have to have somewhere to live, they have to have food to eat, they have to have clothing to wear, and they have to have something to hope for,”
Is this really the best Labour can do in the shadow of those words?
When I set MANA up with Matt McCarten, Hone Harawira, John Minto, Sue Bradford and the incredible Annette Sykes, there was an understanding that at the core of Left wing politics was a need to use the State to materially better everyone.
At the centre of that philosophical core was an understanding that the very tax system itself needed to be reset by taking the burden off the working poor and placing it out upon the wealthy.
MANA argued for a Financial Transaction Tax that would be a base rate on all automated bank transactions, it would raise enough tax to bring GST down to 10% while allowing the first $20 000 to be tax free. The extra revenue would allow for a mass State Housing rebuild plus free public transport plus more money for education and health.
The total tax take from workers would lower while forcing the Banks, Corporates and Speculators to finally pay for their greed.
This is why the Tax debate every fucking election is such a shallow and hollow joke. Labour says blah blah blah and National scream tax cut. They are both fighting over an ever diminishing pie!
It’s the Great NZ Tax Cut Scam that never actually fixes the problem!
We need a radical means to place the yoke of taxation onto those who are causing the most economic damage and greed – the Banks, the Corporates and Speculators!
The true political division in a Capitalist Democracy is not the colour of your skin or gender identity or genital tribalism, it’s between the 1% richest, their 9% enablers and the 90% rest of us!
Labour must think big on funding universal provision of services to survive the economic downturn and the new post-Covid reality in a climate warming world!
To fund these big services we need a new tax system. A Financial Transaction Tax penalises those who are the greediest while funding the services that benefit everyone.
-Free Public Transport: Rather than welfare increases that the cruel and insidious MSD clawback, put money back into the pockets of the poorest with free public transport, while reducing climate pollution AND making roads more free for those who need to use them. Free Public Transport would make voters care.
-Free Dental Services: Our lack of free Dental is a disgraceful outcome of free market neoliberalism over public health.
-Free Breakfast and lunches in all schools: Again, rather than welfare increases that the cruel and insidious MSD clawback, put money back into the pockets of the poorest with free Breakfasts and Lunches at school. With inflation and mortgage rates soaring even the children of the middle classes will benefit.
-Legalise Cannabis: FFS, it generates half a billion in revenue and justice system savings, just do it for Christ’s sakes you gutless wonders!
-30 000 State House Build: Rather than simply trying to fund flawed models of a rigged property market built for speculators, do mass State Housing builds for only State House tenants and owner occupiers with rent to own options. Build these on Golf Courses we seize back from Auckland and Wellington using the Public Works Act.
-4 day working week in all public services: Build a post growth movement by adopting it in the State sector first. Employ more state servants.
-Basic Pharmaceutical Industry: The continued post Covid world of geopolitical threats demands a level of self sufficiency we are no where close to.
-Tidal Energy Production: Towards our 100% renewable energy target.
-Universal Free Internet: Available through all Churches, Marae, Libraries.
-First $20 000 Tax Free: Most people earn barely $40 000, making the first $20 000 tax free would benefit the poorest first and most.
-Vice Tax on all Gambling, Tobacco & Booze: A special super tax on top of the total tax paid for products that are a blight upon society. Why should the Gambling Booze Vape Barons peddle their harmful products with the barest of responsibility?
-Sugar Tax: The Big Sugar Drug Dealers have been allowed to sell their highly addictive drugs directly to market with no penalty for too long. Time too pay punks.
-Remove GST from fresh fruit and vegetables: Make healthier choices cheaper, works best with a sugar tax.
-30% Stake-hold in Supermarket Duopoly: The broken market is creating a million dollars additional profit each day to the Duopoly. Fuck them. A new supermarket chain will reduce cost and voters need to see that in an inflation explosion.
A Financial Transaction Tax, Sugar Tax and a taxed Cannabis Market could fund new services, old services PLUS take the tax take off the poorest and put it on the richest.
It’s time to be radical.
Why?
Because the economy is about to get hammered and the old systems won’t work any longer.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson admits tax-free zone on low income would help with cost of living
Finance Minister Grant Robertson admits that a tax-free zone on low income – like Australia has – would help with the rising cost of living.
Covid-19:Traffic lights live to illuminate another day, but the economy is overtaking the virus
ANALYSIS: The same day that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the end of vaccine certificates, scanning QR codes and some vaccine mandates, and then permitted unlimited-size outdoor events with no face mask rules, ASB published a small but consequential note forecasting that household costs could increase by $150 per week this year.
That’s $7800 in increased outgoings over the course of the year. It is a mixture of general inflation and increased interest rates – which will likely be jacked up to fight that growing inflation.
With weekly household costs tipped to rise $150 due to inflation, Finance Minister Grant Robertson has signalled a further 2.5 percent rise in the cost of living due to the war in Ukraine.
Why foreign investors are feeling jittery about China
State media has not tried to hide the fact that billions of dollars in global investors’ funds have drained away from China in recent weeks.
They have attributed the outflows–US$11.5 billion since the start of March and counting – to volatility in global markets, a hawkish US Federal Reserve and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on global supply chains. One government publication has downplayed the seriousness of the situation and speculated that foreign money will soon come pouring back in.
Comrades.
Th Identity Politics Left has lurched into ‘Social Justice’ territory which alienates more than it attracts. As a class left supporter, I believe the demarkation of power in society is between the 1% and their 9% enablers vs the 90% rest of us.
Economic Justice does more than banning Gay Conversion, criminalising speech or gerrymandering the legal system to ensure anyone accused is found guilty, it redistributes wealth and makes direct provision to the cost of every day living. Beneficiaries and working class people care less about pronouns and the correct pronunciation of te Reo than they do about how to pay next weeks rent and power bill!
Pure temple doctrine divides & alienates. Broadchurch universals build solidarity.
I’m not interested in social justice wokedom any more, it is a minefield of competing schisms throwing vitriol at one another.
Twitter outrage is woke righteousness porn for the middle classes. A puritanical razoring where the self elected morality police publicly shame and cancel anyone for not using the language protocols of the conclave.
I am interested in Economic Justice and the immediate welfare of the poorest amongst us while providing immediate life condition upgrades.
We need to be kinder to People and crueler to Corporates.
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Any new tax cuts are at a point where they will destroy our economy.
How ideological rigid are national to even put it on the table?
So Harawira and the Maori party joined the Tories so you were a Tory while Hone was with that crowd. Anyone but the Tories Marty.
Harawira literally got thrown out of The Maori Party for doing what Tariana Turia did which was which was to sorry venom on National or Labour what ever. It’s totally disingenuous to say that Harawira is in anyway a Tory.
They probably regress due to stress and depression, Harawira copes by believing he needs to work harder and he can only rely on himself during turmoil.
The Mana Movement is all about his depression and how he copes with it during the first insults.
Re: Winter Energy Payment
Singles get less than un-singles. However, it costs singles the same for heating as it costs un-singles. Simply STUPID in my opinion. Those singles with major health challenges often need as much or more heating than un-singles.
The stupid thing is all superannuation recipients get the same amount .To many it mean a meal out on the government while those that really need it due to ill health could really do with more.
The obvious answer to inflation, and the rapid increase in the cost of the necessities of life: the roof over the head, food, heating, and transport, is to introduce a UBI, a universal, unconditional, basic income for every New Zealander.
It is plain that the Ardern-Robertson government doesn’t intend to do that, and rather than the complexity of an FTT, the simplest response to the rising cost of living would be to make the first $30,000 (not $20,000) of everyone’s income tax-free, then tax everything above that at 33%, up to $120,000 a year, just over double the median fulltime income, a handy threshold for the 39% tax rate to kick in.
NZ Super would be paid out tax-free at the existing after-tax-at-M rates, giving over-65s wiggle room to earn another $10,000 or so before being hit with tax.
Luxons outgrown his hair….whose stolen it….GIVE IT BACK
Look closely, there’s lots of trimmed short and curlies around his neck.
There is a problem – let’s get our fiefdom huddling around and talking about the matters right up until the election with nothing decided. After all we have already had a big tax conference and they produced some unfortunately uncomfortable recommendations tax changes so we need to kick up some more dust obscurng our gripping problems.
Info on warped UK finances that would shine a sidelight on our taxation finance floors with their revolving disco ball.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyk12Wf_TeQ
How London became the dirty money capital of the world | FT
Hear the dirt on Russian investment in UK. Economic Crime Bill sounds interesting.
Quote – We have had to have a war [in Ukraine] to bring this to a heade&oei
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_cC_wjDgM8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YgFDZNXPyg
The wealthy have had their tax burden slashed by ~50% over the past 40-odd years, while the rest of us ended up stuck with reduced public services. Rural New Zealand, for example have been subjected to hospital closure after hospital closure. All to “pay” for tax cuts.
Where is MANA now? We need a true left wing political party based on working class principles. This incarnation of a Labour Party make Muldoon look like a socialist.
Not trying to be critical or anything but high net worth individuals are all patent holders. The due diligence on market places and infringement is sparse to non existent. The assets have already been privatised and if there’s a transfer of patent that produces profit that’s infringement. Atleast half of all corporate profit is infringement.
Taxes have little to do with the regulatory landscape but we do want to inject fairness into the markets.
Further I am not saying don’t do wealth taxes. Please do.
Or Martyn you could seize the racecourses that get way less use, no need for this gambling vice and tax on it, and leave the bloody golf courses alone.
I think the dental is a good idea. It’s probably saving money in the long run. Bad teeth lead to all sorts of bad ailments/disease cancer etc.
Lots of racecourse have gone by the way now but still sit derelict. A good source to build on.
By corruptly blocking a CGT during her tenure Jacinda is now the main block to fairness in NZ. She has to go…. and go now…. so it can be introduced before the next election.
yup….except that Nats/Act will get in power, and bye bye your CGT dreams for years
Once its in place it will stay forever. You just need a person with morals to get it through which is why Jacinda must be ousted before its too late. We have seen with Putin how destructive a corrupt leader who only cares about the rich and who has total disregard for the poor can be. There is no place in the modern world for such cruel leadership.
Ex Kiwi, while I agree there should be a CGT I am not sure if you can call it corruption. She got re-elected saying no to CGT ( which says something about New Zealanders and supposed fairness)
I think these people who say to the poor that they need to be patient and not to rock the boat are far more evil than the right because they know 100% they’re full of it where as Luxon really doesn’t know.