The Mother Budget
There are budgets and there are budgets. And for all the presence or absence of bright ideas, there’s a budget that threatens to subsume all others…
Economy
tax
Grant Robertson’s pre-budget speech
Grant Robertson has just delivered his pre-budget speech. One takeaway message: “Labour’s finance spokesman Grant Robertson says Labour will set out a tax package before the 2017 election to set out how it will raise revenue to address issues in education, health and housing”.
We’re going to burn it all, until we burn it down.
What does it really mean to reduce NZ’s total fossil fuel use by 50% by 2030: a warm up discussion for an upcoming thought experiment.
Tax cuts! No! Yes! Maybe! Look over there!
English is right, Key is lying and he knows it. But Key would rather we were talking about the mirage of tax cuts (again) than current events like the protection of corrupt tax havens or our homeless living in cars.
We have to have poverty so we can have a tax cut
Despite record Crown debt and a crisis in the social sector National is getting ready to campaign in 2017 promising a tax cut.
The real reason that politicians will take no action on tax haven corruption
Take action on tax haven corruption? NZ says – meh
The Nats are all over the place on this, and they’re trashing our reputation in the process.
Laundering earnings vs laundering money
When a corporation launders its earnings in a tax haven, it is completely upfront about where the money came from and who it belongs to, which differentiates the activity from “money laundering.”
Fixing the tax haven – what’s the downside?
Fixing our tax haven loopholes is easy but Key won’t act. Why?
Petition on tax dodging
John Key’s dead cat strategy
National is hoping to avoid a proper debate about issues raised by the Panama Papers by raising a series of idiotic diversions.
Land tax – what’s the down side?
The Nats are using spurious data to justify dropping a proposal for a land tax on foreign buyers of housing. Why?
Key lashes out with the smears over tax haven status
Key was disgraceful in parliament yesterday, doing his buffoon act to try and trivialise the tax haven issue, and lashing out with the smears.
Sprung again – Key’s “lawyer” has close links to Mossack Fonseca
Contrary to Prime Minister John Key’s categorical assertion, his “lawyer”, Ken Whitney, has been found to have links to Mossack Fonseca, the Panama law firm at the centre of a global scandal on tax evasion and avoidance, TVNZ reported today.
John Key vs the world
Is John Key the only international leader defending tax havens? Includes bonus international media round up of yesterday’s revelations.
The link between tax havens, criminals and the amoral rich
“The Panama Papers issue is either illegal, or verging on illegal, it’s tax evasion, rather than tax avoidance,” Brash said.
John Key chickens out of #panamapapers interview
This morning John Key refused to be interviewed on Radio New Zealand after learning that they intended to ask him questions about the Panama Papers. And some elements of the media are for some strange reason trying to say there is nothing to see because he personally has not been implicated.
NZ exporting poverty
By enabling tax evasion for the rich in other (notably South American) countries NZ is exporting poverty. It’s all perfectly legal. And that’s exactly the problem.
Panama Papers whistleblower cites Pacific isles, NZ, for good reasons
Jurgen Mossack told Field his business involved people “trying to avoid paying taxes in their home countries” – crucially “avoidance”, “unlike evasion”, is within the law.
John, Ken and Mark might have had much better weeks
“I did a little yelp of joy…like an excited puppy,” wrote Farrier, the former Newsworthy presenter at TV3, on hearing of Weldon’s resignation
Another Panama dump on NZ links
Australia’s Financial Review has just published more details of NZ’s starring role as tax haven in the Panama Papers.
Update: Claims that Key’s lawyer never dealt with Mossack Fonseca seem to be – untrue.
Key’s sloppy trust
An editorial in The Herald today keeps the pressure on Key. Meanwhile his “lawyer” can’t be happy, and Key hits peak condescension.
The wheels on the bus go round and round
Key chucks his “lawyer” under a bus – Part 2.
Compass serves up very little tax
Radio New Zealand has reported that Compass, supplier of our substandard hospital food, appears to be taking steps to minimise the tax it pays locally.
Key chucks his “lawyer” under a bus
Key has form on lying, you’d hope that his “lawyer” does not.
Tax haven questions for National
The weekend saw the pressure stay on National over our tax haven status, and the role Key might have played in protecting it.
Dunne concerned about “extremely damaging” tax haven label – years too late
Peter Dunne is concerned about the ‘extremely damaging’ tax haven label. Guyon Espiner points out that he used to call it ‘legitimate tax avoidance’.
Key’s Blind Trust vs Our Blind Faith
So Key’s lawyer reckons the PM directly requested that trust industry leaders lobby the Revenue Minister. On the other hand, PM DunnoKeyo reckons he did no such thing. That leaves some really big questions …
Mossack Fonseca bites National on the arse
John Key is facing some problems describing how a Mossack Fonseca company ended up owning a New Zealand farm and how after his lawyer asked the Government not to change the rules surrounding foreign trusts the Government moved to make sure that no rule change would occur.
Key’s land tax – too weak
Reaction to Key’s land tax has been luke warm at best, with strong calls for more effective action. Labour is promising “a ‘tidal wave’ of big housing reforms”…
Key prepares to backflip on Auckland housing
John Key is preparing the ground for a reversal on National’s refusal to do anything about Auckland’s housing crisis.
John’s Key’s “lawyer” is not a lawyer
John Key, explaining why he had an account with tax avoidance specialists Antipodes Trust Group, said he used the firm because his long-term friend, Ken Whitney, is a principal at the firm and has been his private lawyer for many years. The flaw in that theory is that Whitney is not currently a lawyer.
What tax evasion robs us of – in NZ
Gareth Morgan estimates that NZ could be missing out on up to 25% of total income tax because the rich aren’t paying their fair share. What could a government do with an extra $7.5bn a year?
The secrecy uprising
It is clear from John Key’s irresponsible reaction to accusations of NZ being a loosely controlled tax haven, that we are becoming an international target. Contrast that with European reactions, and then have a look at the David Brin’s prophetic reasons for the fictional Helvitica War…