Trump and Musk: One Big Beautiful Break-up
The world’s richest man has fallen out with the President he helped elect. Elliot Crossan asks: does this mark the beginning of the […]
tax cuts
Why We Need Universalism, Not Tax Cuts, To Solve The Cost-Of-Living Crisis
The pros & cons of tax cuts vs. universalism suggest that universalism might be universally better for New Zealand.
In defense of taxing the family home
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.
Good on ya NZ – choosing Labour policy over Nat tax cut
It is very heartening to see Kiwis rejecting National’s tax cut bribe (and English’s arrogant debate rhetoric) – in favour of supporting each other and backing Labour’s policies for a better NZ.
Tax cuts or fix this…
Auckland City Councilor Richard Hills yesterday tweeted some of the things we would like to see fixed before a tax cut. You might want to add to the list. Good thing Labour is promising to cancel the cuts and spend billions more on health and education.
National reckon public health and education are a waste of money?
According to Morning Report the Nats are calling Labour’s budget for more spending on health and education “a plan to waste more money”. Tell it to the people who can’t afford private alternatives and depend on the public systems.
A clear choice for voters
Herald editorial: “Credit where it is due. It takes courage to say that if elected, you will cancel a tax cut. … In doing so it has presented the voters with a clear choice which, for those without young families or earning above the income limits, will mean deciding whether to take the tax cut or give the benefit to children of the less well off.”
Labour’s Targeted Families Package
As covered by Vernon Small on Stuff: “Labour is promising to scrap National’s Budget tax cut plan. Instead it will funnel the cash into higher Working for Families payments and extra help for those with young children. It’s a package it says will deliver up to $48 a week extra to middle income families.”
Tax cuts and 1600 deaths per year
One of the nasty little fishhooks in the budget was the cutting of the home insulation scheme (Warm Up New Zealand). The scheme had a benefit-cost ratio of $6 for every $1 invested. Around 1,600 people die in NZ a year of cold-related factors. Hope the tax cuts are worth it eh?
Murdoch on the tax-cut striptease (NSFW)
English flogging National’s one-trick pony
Never mind the record debt, the dropped contributions to the Cullen fund, the housing crisis, rising poverty, the deteriorating health system, the costs of quake rebuilds, the filthy water, the need to prepare for climate change – never mind all that, have an election bribe!
National’s one-trick election pony – the eternal mirage of tax cuts
As Finance Minister Bill English effectively ruled out tax cuts, but it’s election year, and so of course the Nats can’t help but trot out their one-trick election pony again.
Nats continue to have a quid each way on tax cuts
Tax cuts – the Nats are continuing to rule them both in and out for the election. Incoherence or deliberate strategy? Either way – Key got away with this kind of bullshit for 8 long years – are we going to let it continue?
The eternal tax-cut mirage
Despite the unknown cost of the quakes, and the host of other urgent needs, Key is once again talking up election-bribe tax cuts.
Tax cuts hard to sell
Herald: “…the Government ought to be banking surpluses, just as Sir Michael Cullen did during the boom of 2000-2007”.
There is no surplus
In Year Eight of this National government, the idea of a budget surplus is a joke. They’ve promised it for nearly a decade. They’ve fiddled the books. The truth is, there is no surplus.
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.
No, National shouldn’t have balanced the books.
Simon Louisson recently made a post about National’s profligacy, and all of the debt they have racked up. Guest poster Michael disagrees with Simon and says that “Yes, National was profligate.” and “No, National should not have balanced the books.”
Little: ACC levies need to come down
A National government which loves to cut taxs + workers and business being overcharged ACC levies = levy cuts, right? Wrong!
On the economy and tax cut bribes
National are not responsible for the eventual recovery, they are responsible for delaying it.
A clear Cunliffe win
David Cunliffe’s performance in tonight’s head-to-head with John Key was exactly what I wanted to see from the next Labour Prime Minister of NZ.
Nats useless on economy
The economy is a mess, the Nats have no ideas, and their current policies (e.g. hypothetical tax cuts) are getting laughed out of town. National is useless on the economy, and the sooner we the people wake up to this fact, the better off we will be.
Tax cuts – simple question simple answer
Duncan Garner asks – “when we’ve just borrowed $55b over 6 years how on earth are tax cuts suddenly affordable?”. Presumably it’s a rhetorical question…
Show us the money John
John Key and National are talking about tax cuts. But when you think about the actual cost of the Christchurch rebuild and tumbling international milk prices you have to question if tax cuts are affordable or even justifiable.
Look over there! Tax cuts!
So National are both so out of ideas and so desperate to take the spotlight off their Dirty Politics that they’re now promising tax cuts. Tax cuts straight after we have a panel of our most prominent economists warning that the ‘rock star’ economy is going to hit the rocks.
Tax cut cynicism
According to the PM, Bill English saying there won’t be tax cuts was both true and untrue at the same time, like a fiscal Schroedinger’s Cat.
LB: Bill’s Busted Budget and Tim’s Exploding Emissions
Local bodies points out a couple more of the National government’s sad-sacks. For some strange (but obvious) reason a warmish market for milk powder doesn’t do much for NZ apart from destroying our environment. English’s taxcuts for his wealthy mates have destroyed the fiscal base of the government and done nothing to cause any investment in the productive and employable parts of our economy. Tim Groser has also made an artform of making NZ worse off.
Tax cuts – because it worked so well last time
The ideological loonies advising the government want us to go even further down the stupid and damaging path of income tax cuts. Surely even the Nats have too much sense to listen this time.
The lie of the “fiscally neutral” tax cuts
The “fiscally neutral” tax cuts never were neutral at all, and a lower than expected tax take is hitting the government’s books. But Key is still out there repeating the lie.
In search of a justification
Farrar and others of the Right push for ever lower taxes, but their arguments are laughably flimsy. Tax cuts don’t raise revenue. Tax cuts don’t cause growth. In search of their “superior moral justification for selfishness” the Right are going to have to do a lot better than that…
Growing the economy
Krugman: The unwisdom of elites
Paul Krugman on the real reasons for the economic carnage. Not social spending policies, but the daft economic policies of the right-wing “policy elites”. Our focus should not be on slashing spending, but on National’s stupid, unaffordable tax cuts.
Choices: Tax cuts or teachers
You’re the ruling government. Which do you choose, tax cuts for 47 millionaires or salaries for 121 new teachers? It’s not a hypothetical question…
Debt explained
The same scenario of tax cuts, national debt, and public spending cuts is being played out in New Zealand, Britain and the USA. Here’s the right wing argument in a nutshell…
On Hickey on tax cuts
Bernard Hickey sets out the “theory” behind National’s tax cuts, and sums up the impact of the tax package as a whole: “Simply put, it’s not working”.
Why isn’t it working? Well the fact that the theory is nonsense probably doesn’t help…
Economy
The economy, shall we say politely, is facing some difficulties. With a National government there was no plan as to how to weather the economic storm, we just got tax cuts for the rich and an economy that just can’t get growing.