This is not a joke
April 26th, 2006 at 4:44 pm by David Farrar“The rising cost of everyday goods and services provides a strong case for tax cuts and major reforms in next month’s budget, Labor said today.
This is a true headline.
Sadly as those who saw the missing u in Labour, it is Australian Labor who are calling for this.
Note that Australia has a smaller surplus (per capita) and lower inflation than NZ, yet still supports tax cuts.
NZ Labour remains also unique amongst both right and left wing Governments in refusing to lower tax rates no matter how large the surplus.
No tag for this post.
April 26th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
What are the odds that NZ Labour would also support tax cuts if they were not in government? I reckon very high, in that Labour is nothing if not populist. Only when they are in power do their true colours show.
Vote:April 26th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
“What are the odds that NZ Labour would also support tax cuts if they were not in government?”
I’d have to go with low. If Labour weren’t in government then I’d assume National would be and we’d actually have had tax cuts (which Labour, naturally would have opposed).
Vote:April 26th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
New Zealanders – Overtaxed or overseas.
Vote:April 26th, 2006 at 7:20 pm
This whole issue of Australia cutting taxes is so disingenuous. It’s all very well to complain about NZ not cutting taxes when Australia is, but you should at least put it in the context of the reality that tax rates in Australia are much, much higher. With a top tax rate of 47c, a middle rate of 42c, plus GST, place State taxes (e.g. stamp duty) plus medicare!
This meme of NZ as being over taxed and forcing people to leave the country is absurd. If high taxes forced people to leave, they would be streaming here from Australia.
I don’t mind people arguing for tax cuts in New Zealand, as long as they actually base their arguments on some semblance of reality. The reality is that NZ is a much lower tax country than Australia.
Take company tax in Australia, which is a little lower than NZ. The fact is that Australian companies have to pay 9% super to (virtually) all their employees and they have payroll taxes and stamp duties on a State level (although theoretically these are going to be phased out due to GST, but we
Vote:April 26th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
New Zealanders – Overtaxed or in the UK (and getting taxed even more).
(of course – that’s no excuse for not reducing taxes here. For a small country that should be a relative doddle to run, I shudder when I read about the waste of tax-payers money, much of which is floundered on schemes that strikingly mirror those adopted by UK labour.)
Vote:April 26th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
Oh and this might be relevant too:
THE Federal Government will today finally manage to do what most Australians struggle to achieve
Vote:April 26th, 2006 at 8:28 pm
Do the numbers Mr/Ms anon – the taxes in Australia may be higher in % but they still work out better than NZ. I’ve listed some numbers for you to compare. First figure is Income, 2nd is Tax paid in Aust & 3rd is Tax paid in NZ.
40k – Aus $7860 – NZ $8070
65k – Aus $15360 – NZ $16620
80k – Aus $21060 – NZ $22470
125k – Aus $39960 – NZ $40020
So there you have it – a straight comparison and that doesn’t compare standard of living, etc etc etc
Vote:April 26th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
Yes, its all very well to point out Australia has a top rate of 47 cents in the dollar, but look at where the top rate kicks in. Plans are to move it to $120K.
As TomTom shows, because the tax rates start lower in Aus ($0 on the first 6K or so, etc) the differences are not as huge. GST at 10% instead of 12.5%, and Medicare is comparable to ACC here (which is going up again).
Lastly, when I was working in Sydney I could earn bigger dollars compared to the wages here. Sydney may have been more expensive for some things, but food and cafes were cheaper and bigger variety.
Labour could have at least kept the top tax rate in NZ affecting te same percentage they promised when they brought it in – which would move it from 60K to probably 90K.
Remember, extra money in peoples pockets still gets spent, which creates jobs, growth and transaction tax revenue as it goes around again. It’s just that people choose what to spend it on instead of government.
Vote:April 27th, 2006 at 12:22 am
“Sydney may have been more expensive for some things, but food and cafes were cheaper and bigger variety.”
Vote:There is no GST on food in Australia. That certainly wasn’t the way Howard & Costello wanted it. For ‘cheaper food’ you can thank the Australian Democrat senators.
April 27th, 2006 at 12:57 am
The main reason NZers get paid so poorly is due to the low wage economy that National created with the Employment Contracts Act and related legislation. Until then, NZ and Australia were very similar in terms of wages.
The idea seems to have been to lower costs in NZ to attract foreign investment, however the disastrous outcome seems to have been Aussie companies buying up large and repatriating the profits. The good management jobs have gone to Sydney or Melbourne, and the investment is not coming.
The best and brightest, saddled with huge student loan debt and unlikely to afford a house and put down roots before they turn 40, simply go where the pay is better.
To the NZ business community- if you want skilled people, pay them a competitive pay rate to that in Australia. Stop whining about skills shortages and put your money where your mouth is.
“Labour could have at least kept the top tax rate in NZ affecting te same percentage they promised when they brought it in – which would move it from 60K to probably 90K.”
I agree with this- inflation indexing is well overdue.
Vote:April 27th, 2006 at 8:38 am
In my opinion – a recent immigrant from Europe – one of the main reasons NZers get paid so poorly is due to their low productivity, mainly strong inclination to excessive social life in office. Waste of time and redundant activities. This is what I have noticed while working in New Zealand. If I were my employer, I would fired a half of office workers and asked others to actually work during working hours.
Vote:May 1st, 2006 at 11:38 am
LOL Peter, you’re probably onto something. Although friends back from OEs in the UK suggest similar amounts of time are spent over there learning the fine art of making arsing around look like work. Perhaps it’s just a more established art in the old world?
Vote:November 16th, 2006 at 11:21 am
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