Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Former treasury boss Ken Henry has fessed up to helping dumb down debates about tax and budgets to lists of winners and losers. He says what matters is what wins rather than who.
A buyer could have to pay GST on a ‘substantially renovated’ home, but there’s often uncertainty about whether a renovation counts as substantial or not. A simple test could resolve the issue.
Overseas experiences suggests a targeted system using smart cards for buying fruit and vegetables would be more effective than broad-brush changes to the tax system.
Jonathan Barrett, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
New Zealand’s tax system might be in need of updating, but Revenue Minister David Parker’s new tax legislation is unnecessarily complicated at a time when we most need clarity.
Robert Breunig, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Imagine taking money from others when times were bad, and not paying it back when times improved. That’s Western Australia’s approach to the other states.
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Asked to choose the fairest ways to raise billions, half of the economists backed introducing inheritance taxes. Around a third chose winding back super tax concessions and increased resource taxes.
Lisa Marriott, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Heading into the 2023 election, politicians and commentators have said New Zealand’s tax needs to be fairer. But opinions on how to make the system fairer vary wildly.
The call for GST exemptions on food is a regular feature of New Zealand politics, but it’s far from the simple cost of living solution many seem to think it is.
Ending GST on some foods is being touted as a way to reduce food poverty. But cheap food comes with a high environmental and health cost. Is there a way to value food but reduce hardship?
In the Howard government, there was near-consensus in Cabinet that an ETS was eventually likely. A spike in asylum-seeker arrivals stimulated the hard “deterrent’ strategy” that would morph into the “Pacific Solution” in 2001.
Tasmania gets more of its revenue from “bad taxes” than any state or territory other than Victoria, and less from “good taxes” than anywhere other than Queensland.