There’s hope for Labour
NBR reports:
Labour has left the door open to its tax plans being fiscally neutral, with its finance spokesman Grant Robertson saying this outcome is “quite likely” if Labour wants to rebalance the tax system.
This comes as a Taxpayers’ Union petition calling on Labour to make any new taxes fiscally neutral gains traction.
This is excellent news. If Labour don’t use their proposed Tax Working Group as a way to soak New Zealanders out of more tax, but simply to broaden the base – that is commendable
After Labour’s shift, the Taxpayers’ Union started a petition calling on Labour to make any new taxes fiscally neutral – when taxes and government spending are neutral (also referred to as revenue neutrality).
The lobby group’s executive director, Jordan Williams, says the petition has already received 5000 signatures.
“New Zealand’s government books are in a healthy shape, with enormous surpluses projected forward. What Labour needs to do to inoculate any criticism around its tax plans is say they will be fiscally neutral.”
He is calling on Labour to reduce income tax and GST to compensate households for the new taxes – “the problem with our economy definitely isn’t that households aren’t being taxed enough.”
Addressing media yesterday, Mr Robertson was keeping the door open to that possibility.
He says fiscal neutrality will “certainly” be one of the areas the tax working group will be looking at.
“It is quite clear that, if we are rebalancing the tax system, a revenue neutral outcome is one of the outcomes that is quite likely.”
Having Grant say a revenue neutral option is quite likely is highly encouraging. And this is one of the reasons I co-founded the NZTU. Without a lobby group out there pushing the message that we don’t need to increase the tax burden on New Zealanders, then politicians would not be getting asked about this.
I actually favour a capital gains tax and a land tax, so long as income and company taxes are reduced to compensate (and they have minimal exemptions).