In a comment yesterday on Eddie's post 'CGT or asset sales? Which do you prefer?', Matthew Hooton wrote "Where do I tick “I want both”?" Well, there are basically two options: vote for parties that would form a Labour-led government, or ones that would form…
I've been impressed with Labour parties on both sides of the ditch lately. Here of course Phil Goff's Labour party has had the guts to take on the major flaw in our tax system, stare down supposed "electoral suicide", carry almost every credible economic commentator…
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Weekend social is for non political chat. What's on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can't we all just get along?
http://youtu.be/gjyHctIljPM http://youtu.be/A969XxqqVwo Hmm. I'm still not sure how English would guarantee the assets don't fall into private hands and neither, clearly, is he. What's his view on CGT? The truth may surprise you: http://youtu.be/G6CfK8-4kmA
The family: Anne Mason and David Hall welcome the income tax cut and the GST-free fresh fruit and vegetables: "Every little bit helps because prices have gone up outrageously" They calculate that they would save $10 a week from the GST policy on top of…
The political Right have many dishonest but effective catch phrases. One of the most common is "the politics of envy". They trot it out in response to any attempt by the Left to implement a more progressive tax system or close tax loopholes. They're trotting…
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You've gotta love Hone Harawira's style. By refusing to use the right words in his oath, Hone exposed the ridiculousness of our representatives swearing allegiance to a Queen on the far side of the world and calling on the aid of a deity that only…
I see Brash has put out a release headlined: “CGT Reactionary, Ruinous, Retrograde and Wrong – Brash” Is that the same Brash that put out a booklet when he was reserve bank governor, which said: The absence of a capital gains tax, and the over-taxation…
Voters on both sides of the world will see Labour oppositions in a completely new light after this week. Phil Goff and Ed Miliband both took on untouchable third-rail issues; capital gains tax in New Zealand and Rupert Murdoch's pernicious monopoly media influence in England.…
So, Don Brash is having trouble getting any Maori candidates for ACT. Apparently, he identified 3 possibles - 2 turned out to be "unsuitable" (not old white reactionaries?) and one wasn't interested. My question, however, is this. If Brash does manage to headhunt a token…
According to Gareth Morgan, “all income should be taxed if it is a fair income tax”. So where are taxes coming from right now? The three main areas are PAYE (pay as you earn personal income tax), GST (goods and services tax) and Company tax.…
The right wing of politics likes to moan and wail about all forms of "red tape" and regulation. History frequently shows them to be fools. It's not always easy finding the balance, but a healthy dose of sensible regulation is essential for the smooth running…
Generally, no-one likes taxes, so Labour's polling shows that Kiwis are surprisingly receptive to capital gains tax with 31% supporting CGT on its own merits to 43% opposed. But head to head with National asset sales plan, the choice was clear: 55% prefer CGT vs…
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Back in April I posted how when Helen was PM, visitors to Beehive offices had to leave their cellphones in the foyers. I understand it's still the practice. It's not because Ministers suspect officials of bugging them. It's because cellphones can be accessed remotely and…
Russel Norman put a dagger into John Key yesterday in question time asking whether a series of national and international economic authorities really wanted to "put a dagger through the heart of growth" with a CGT. Key waffled and whined and contradicted himself: 'it won't…
We can expect a lot of economic rhetoric in the lead up to November from our political leaders. What does history suggest with respect to two key economic indicators: production and employment? If past performance is anything to go by we can expect either a…
There are murmurings in ACT today over their new 'high profile' candidate, ex-farming guy who's on the telly sometimes ranting about climate change Don Nicolson. The party's current policy priorities are lower wages for young people, weakening student unions, and beating up on Maori and…
[x-axis is number of quarters since economy peaked] So, the Great Recession has not yet been not as deep as the Ruthanasia Recession but it's going to be a whole lot longer. Even if growth suddenly went into recovery mode like the previous recessions, it…
John Key is getting shriller and shriller on the topic of capital gains tax (CGT). How's this for starters: Key: Tax system envy of the world New Zealand's tax system is the envy of the world and does not need Labour's capital gains tax which…
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I was in the middle of the scrum on Molesworth Street on the night of July 29th 1981 when anti-apartheid marchers were batoned by the police. This was four days after the Springbok tour's first match had been called off, a seminal event leading to…
National Contributes to Africa's Misery Written by The Jackal at 8:02 PM Once again we're witness to the horrendous images of starving people arriving at refugee camps in east Africa, with nearly 12 million people facing starvation across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. 3 million of…
After coming to office, National cried 'crisis at ACC' as an excuse for raising levies, cutting cover, and privatisation. In truth, the 'crisis' at ACC was only ever the decrease in the value of its investment as a result of the global financial crisis. The…
Capital gains is a good policy that builds the credibility of Labour's economic and fiscal plan. Labour's brilliantly run pre-launch has sparked interest and discussion. The destruction of John Key's economic credibility has been a welcome side benefit. And it is a blow, Vernon Small…
A feasible plan to power 100 percent of the planet with complete renewables exists. This plan excludes Nuclear and Biofuels, which the Scientific American authors of this plan also considered to be ultimately unsustainable technologies as well. Instead this plan revolves around Wind, Water and…
The matter of Christchurch "looter" Arie Smith (Cornelius Arie Smith-Voorkamp) has taken a worrying new turn. The story so far. Smith was arrested for looting an Addington home building after the February 22 earthquake. He became the publicised "face of looting" - a scapegoat for…