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Thursday, July 07, 2011

How dare National lecture on Capital Gains Tax in light of their economic incompetence!



How disgusting is it for National to lecture on economic competence when it was their failed 'turbo charge' rise in GST to subsidize a tax cut for the rich that left a billion dollar deficit that's coming out of welfare and how does adopting more low tax deregulation Milton Friedman freemarket bullshit which led to the 2008 economic collapse get NZ out of the economic doldrums?

It doesn't.

Property speculation has robbed this country of its economic vitality and in a recession as steep as this there needs to be some political courage required to tax property speculators. Instead of cutting public services and borrowing more, NZ needs to grow it's revenue base, and a Capital Gains Tax is a step in the right direction.

I interviewed Phil Goff last month and put to him that he had to find political courage and bite the bullet on Capital Gains tax, he said to that…

"I think successive parties in Government and opposition have lacked the confidence to do that, it's very easy for the Government to create scare stories around it but there is an argument to broadening the tax base".


…I congratulate him for having the confidence and hope he finds the courage to implement a Financial Transaction Tax while he' at it.

In past elections Labour and National have been sold as Pepsi and Coke branded political parties, but not this election. This is the most ideological election for quarter of a century which will make covering it very difficult for the mainstream media as 'ideology' sits alongside 'vagina' as the two words you are never allowed to say in NZ Current Affairs. Sadly news producers think NZers are too stupid to have a debate about ideology and switch over to the E Channel the second they hear the word.

The soft sell will work, Labour just have to hold their nerve, let the mainstream media run the idea into the ground, puff National out and then set the agenda with the announcement.

This election is much closer than the right wing media are pretending.

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3 Comments:

At 8/7/11 1:43 am, Blogger Brendon O'Connor said...

The Aussie bank are amongst the strongest opponents of a Financial Transaction Tax. It would be the same banks that can happily charge up to 4.5 % Financial Transaction Fees on credit card use to the merchants who now on charge that to their customers who pay up to 24% interest on this same money that the banks borrow at 3.5 %. And they say it is not feasible to add a Financial Transaction Tax of less than 0.05%.

 
At 11/7/11 9:16 pm, Blogger Don Robertson said...

Personally think it is good that the credit card fees can be passed on. Retailers were not allowed to pass on this charge - they just had to swallow it.

Am also in favour of a financial transactions tax, but should come up with a new name. If it is called a tax, people will naturally think it is designed to raise revenue, which it won't. Speculative Transactions Levy?

 
At 11/7/11 9:18 pm, Blogger Don Robertson said...

Crappy system just lost my comment. We'll your loss - it was *brilliant*, but I'm off to watch the opiate of the masses.

 

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