Tax
30/03/24
Josie argues national has not funded its tax cuts while Labour needs to press for tax reform, not increase taxes to pay for more spending.
The Government says some of the cost of tax cuts are funded by cuts to public sector staffing. But it also says those cuts in Wellington are designed to move more services from head office to the “front line”. We will be borrowing for tax cuts.
One reason the cost of living feels so high is that we take far too much tax from families on the way up the hill instead of applying the tax when you make it to the top. We treat the bulk of taxpayers as consumers rather than producers of wealth. Imagine how many more people would be at the top, if we gave a tax break to the wealth-makers of tomorrow still struggling up the slope?
Labour has previously found it enormously difficult to sell a new tax. If it wants to do a tax switch and introduce, say a capital gains tax, it will not be able to get away with also promising spending increases.
The Government says some of the cost of tax cuts are funded by cuts to public sector staffing. But it also says those cuts in Wellington are designed to move more services from head office to the “front line”. We will be borrowing for tax cuts.
One reason the cost of living feels so high is that we take far too much tax from families on the way up the hill instead of applying the tax when you make it to the top. We treat the bulk of taxpayers as consumers rather than producers of wealth. Imagine how many more people would be at the top, if we gave a tax break to the wealth-makers of tomorrow still struggling up the slope?
Labour has previously found it enormously difficult to sell a new tax. If it wants to do a tax switch and introduce, say a capital gains tax, it will not be able to get away with also promising spending increases.
