taxation

Graphing “Ideological Burps”
Prejudice in the policy room has led to a higher tax burden on those who cannot escape it. Ideology is what has got Cullen offside with his constituents....
23 November 2005 - Gareth Morgan

Time to Raise Taxes
The Reserve Bank cannot single-handedly, correct the imbalances of inflation and current account. Politicians making irresponsible promises have made things worse....
3 November 2005 - Gareth Morgan

Under the Voters' Knife
Forget the numbers that Cullen and Keys are biffing at each other. Just ask yourself how much extra redistribution to those in need you're prepared to make from here....
7 September 2005 - Gareth Morgan

The Tax Cuts You Now Can Afford
Father Bear's or Mother Bear's, whose porridge best suits me? There's something to suit all appetites in the offerings. But one package does less damage to the economy and its ability to produce income to give away....
24 August 2005 - Gareth Morgan

Fiscal Drag Queen showers her Subjects with their own Money
Nothing is more natural for a socialist government than redistribution....
21 May 2003 - Gareth Morgan

How many hands does Don Brash have?
In a speech last week Reserve Bank Governor Dr Don Brash ended up with three conflicting views on New Zealand's currency and economy. Economists are well know for being ambidextrous when arguing a point but Dr Brash reached a new level of intellectual dexterity in reaching three conflicting conclusions. On the one hand he argues New...
8 February 2002 - Gareth Morgan

Peter Jackson and the Temple of Doom
All power to Peter Jackson making his stamp on the global movie scene. But let's not get silly, nor be sucked in to even dumber tax policy just because this self-declared "geek of the week" divines that it's Gandalf's wish that we should. The Jackson rationale is nothing more than thinly disguised self-interest with...
4 February 2002 - Gareth Morgan

McLeod II: Cowardice Under Fire
The second McLeod Tax report is a disappointing step backwards from the standard attained in its first document. The result is that the government is let off the hook - doesn't have to defend the imperfect taxation status quo and is instead able to cherry pick from the recommendations that survived the amended report. And like a rat up a drainpipe...
31 October 2001 - Gareth Morgan

The Tax Review and International Tax
New Zealand runs a pretty strict tax regime when it comes to the income earned by New Zealanders from overseas. Essentially unless that income is earned in countries which have similar overall tax regimes to that New Zealanders face at home, then the our tax regime treats the income pretty harshly insofar as its tax liability here. The...
25 July 2001 - Gareth Morgan

The Review and Flat Tax: No courage of conviction
The most pleasing graph in the Tax Review's recent report is the one that demonstrates the total futility of having a progressive personal income scale. We all know the lengths people go to in order to avoid paying more income tax - sheltering in Trusts and companies, splitting income with non-earning family members, moving into the black...
18 July 2001 - Gareth Morgan

Eco-taxes no less clumsy than other excise taxes
One of the features of our current taxation system that received a lot of attention by the Tax Review was hypothecated taxes - those imposed on consumption of specific products with the intent to fund the cost to the public of correcting adverse social and economic consequences. In short the Review came out against such (excise) taxes being...
11 July 2001 - Gareth Morgan

Rough treatment is better than no treatment
I'm warming to the Tax Review's Risk-Free-Return-Method (RFRM) tax on capital. It's simple, it's rough but it intentions are good …..Oh Lord why's it doomed it be misunderstood. The Press, the public and the politicians took all of three days to bury the Review's findings. That must be a record and a pretty loud indication that it needs...
4 July 2001 - Gareth Morgan

Bold and Brave but Rough as Guts
Why should tenants pay more tax than those who own their own home? Of course there is no justification for it and this is the basis always of the case for taxing imputed rent. Does the Tax Review's range of advocated taxes mean a greater tax take? No it doesn't - the extent of the tax take is purely and simply a function of the...
27 June 2001 - Gareth Morgan