Treasury was considering a flat tax rate to help close the income gap between New Zealand and Australia. Finance Minister Bill English had a unique opportunity to reform the tax system, Treasury said.
This opening section of the article has gained several favourable comments for the on-line NBR story.
Some think flat tax is a blindingly obvious move, and I can see the merits of this. However, blinding might be the key word. Here's the sting in the tail that need to be right at the top of the article:
GST, land tax and capital gains tax would be increased to fund the changes.
This isn't a reformation of the tax system, it's solely about broadening the tax base.
There's no serious look at the tax system, as I have seen very few ideas around the tax system I'd expect to see mentioned let alone discussed in depth.
There is no discussion on any restraints on government spending (living within a budget, rather than expanding it), nor mechanisms to prevent tax rates being increased again once the "new" taxes are established (some of us still take note of history).
The result will be that the government will simply continue to increase in size and scope year on year, and taxes will be applied across a broader set of targets, so that when one rate goes down, two others go up.
And guess what the net result will be?
This opening section of the article has gained several favourable comments for the on-line NBR story.
Some think flat tax is a blindingly obvious move, and I can see the merits of this. However, blinding might be the key word. Here's the sting in the tail that need to be right at the top of the article:
GST, land tax and capital gains tax would be increased to fund the changes.
This isn't a reformation of the tax system, it's solely about broadening the tax base.
There's no serious look at the tax system, as I have seen very few ideas around the tax system I'd expect to see mentioned let alone discussed in depth.
There is no discussion on any restraints on government spending (living within a budget, rather than expanding it), nor mechanisms to prevent tax rates being increased again once the "new" taxes are established (some of us still take note of history).
The result will be that the government will simply continue to increase in size and scope year on year, and taxes will be applied across a broader set of targets, so that when one rate goes down, two others go up.
And guess what the net result will be?