Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 pm, March 29th, 2019 - 73 comments
Jacinda Ardern will get a very warm welcome in Beijing based on immense respect for her and for New Zealand. Xi Jin-Ping has just returned from a very successful visit to Europe, joining Italy to the Belt and Road initiative and buying 300 jets from Airbus. Pepe Escobar outlines the implications for Eurasia. Much food for thought.
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, March 27th, 2019 - 121 comments
The former leader of various NZ neo Nazi groups reckons the kiwi far right are being driven underground. TRP argues they will instead look for another home.
Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, March 25th, 2019 - 46 comments
The most important comment in the Tax Working Group’s Final Report is that even the reasonably comprehensive capital gains tax proposed is likely to have only a minor impact on addressing inequality — what is needed is a more progressive income tax system that lifts the top marginal tax rate
Written By: - Date published: 3:23 pm, March 22nd, 2019 - 43 comments
Submissions for the final report on the Electricity Price Review closed today at noon. My recent experience with Genesis Energy reveals pricing by power company majors not only rips customers off, but is immoral. The initial report of the EPR is unlikely to address this issue.
Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, March 20th, 2019 - 30 comments
Westland Dairy has done a deal to sell out to Yili industrial Group of Mongolia. This company is the third largest dairy company in New Zealand.
Written By: - Date published: 4:03 pm, March 17th, 2019 - 91 comments
A few musings on heroism.
Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, March 13th, 2019 - 24 comments
Here’s another one for the select committee reviewing foreign interference. Visitor from Britain Charlie Parton of the Royal United Services Institute was on Morning Report this morning telling us to avoid Huawei because they are Chinese and different from us. At least he does us a favour by making it clear the matter is political not technical.
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, March 11th, 2019 - 288 comments
A landlord has advocated that all landlords should threaten to increase tenant’s rentals if Labour wins the next election.
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, March 10th, 2019 - 21 comments
Norway’s government has announced it is selling out of oil exploration although it will continue to invest in energy companies that have refineries and are engaged in distribution and retail sales of oil and gas products.
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, March 9th, 2019 - 42 comments
Whistleblower Chelsea Manning has allowed herself to be jailed for contempt of court. She says it’s a matter of principle. But what principle?
Written By: - Date published: 9:32 pm, March 7th, 2019 - 187 comments
Radio stations around the world are banning the music of Michael Jackson. What have his records done wrong?
Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, March 7th, 2019 - 111 comments
National has resorted to race baiting in its attempt to denigrate the Tax Working Group’s proposed capital gains tax.
Written By: - Date published: 1:31 pm, March 6th, 2019 - 87 comments
Should we let the ‘Bumbling Jihadi’ Mark Taylor back into NZ? What message do we send the world if we don’t?
Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, March 5th, 2019 - 107 comments
The Government is not due to announce its response to the Tax Working Group’s recommendations for a few more weeks. It appears that National using outrageous assumptions will take the opportunity to raise horror stories in the media on how bad the tax could be.
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, March 3rd, 2019 - 61 comments
National is grooming the voters for another dirty ACT.
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, March 3rd, 2019 - 25 comments
The Herald has reported that there has been concerns at Maggie Barry’s behaviour towards staff has been raised on three separate occasions. And Parliamentary Services is at the suggestion of the Auditor General investigating claims of misuse of Parliamentary Services resources.
Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, March 2nd, 2019 - 67 comments
National’s claim that a capital gains tax would reduce the value of an average worker’s Kiwisaver account by $64,000 over a 45 year working life seems to be as valid as Steven Joyce’s claim there was an $11.5 billion dollar hole in Labour’s draft budget.
Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, March 2nd, 2019 - 31 comments
Treat CGT like a semi-voluntary donation and give people a say in how it is spent.
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, March 2nd, 2019 - 84 comments
Christchurch police have been ordered to carry guns until a wanted man is arrested. Is this a dry run for the permanent arming of our cops?
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, February 28th, 2019 - 32 comments
Gerry Brownlee has been obliged to withdraw a Facebook ad about tax bracket creep after it was discovered he had used grossly overinflated figures.
Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, February 27th, 2019 - 249 comments
Expert comment suggests that a capital gains tax will redress inequality, improve the economy and make housing more affordable.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, February 26th, 2019 - 59 comments
There is a classic piece of waffle in the NZ Herald about when capital gains tax will apply to the family home. But the conditions when this applies are extremely simple and obvious. However professed experts on taxation like the so-called ‘taxpayers union’ can’t understand them. Probably because they are paid not to.
Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, February 25th, 2019 - 225 comments
Spare a thought for poor landlords who are aghast at the thought that they should have to share capital gains on properties they have purchased with no intent of making a capital gain.
Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, February 22nd, 2019 - 74 comments
National is engaging in hysterical levels of hyperbole in its response to the Tax Working Group’s reform package.
Written By: - Date published: 7:53 pm, February 21st, 2019 - 129 comments
Let’s talk about why houses, art, and basically everything should be in the new Capital Gains Tax that Labour and New Zealand First should get onboard with, contrary to their reservations.
Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, February 21st, 2019 - 339 comments
The Tax Party working group’s recommendations have been released.
Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, February 21st, 2019 - 25 comments
In the UK, 3 Conservative MP’s have now aligned themselves with the 8 dissenting Labour MP’s in the ‘Independent Group’. What does this mean for both parties and how will it affect Brexit?
Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, February 21st, 2019 - 30 comments
The Pike River families have released an internal police document describing the handling of evidence from the crime scene as diabolical.
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, February 19th, 2019 - 75 comments
The Government has indicated that it will seek to tax digital companies from overseas.
Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, February 18th, 2019 - 15 comments
Unionist and former MP Darien Fenton takes issue with a major weakness in our law. That’s the ability of guilty bosses to just ignore the rulings of the Employment Court. Can’t pay? Won’t pay!
Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, February 18th, 2019 - 74 comments
It has been alleged that a potentially vital piece of evidence in the Pike River mine fatality that may show the cause of the explosion may have gone missing.
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