Air New Zealand is again under investigation over the credit card fees it charges passengers.It is the second time in a year the airline has come under scrutiny for fees that could breach the Fair Trading Act. The airline charges a $4 processing fee on all domestic bookings made by credit or debit card...Yes indeed, a government watchdog, always on the alert for corporates adding surcharges to their fees, are worried that AIR NZ are gouging the customer. Adding an extra surcharge on top of the total price.
And yet, the requirement for AIR NZ, and indeed every single business and council in NZ to add an additional fee of 15% on the top never gets any sort of scrutiny at all. Oh, the hypocrisy.
Watchdog investigates wrong surcharge
What hypocrisy?
ReplyDeleteFine, criticise the GST all you like, but what's the alternative?
One alternative would be to ensure that religious bodies pay tax and rates, just like the rest of us. Let's see you take up that cause.
It was meant as a bit of tongue in cheek, LRO. Nice to see that if I cast a line, I soon get a nibble.
ReplyDeleteYou asked what is an alternative to GST. Well, an alternative to GST at 15% is GST at 10%. That's the rate it was put in all those years ago IN EXCHANGE FOR lowering the top PAYE tax rates, and replacing the various wholesale tax rates with a simpler, universal consumption tax.
Churches are not fully exempt from rates as you imply.
One of our local churches was sold a couple of years ago simply because the parish could not afford the rates (and insurance) they were required to pay.
Churches are exempt from "general" rates as are schools, ports, maraes and child-care facilities but they do pay "targeted" rates, such as water and sewage.
This makes sense in that the members of churches, schools and maraes all go home and sleep in their ratable houses, and the community benefits from these buildings for non-commercial purposes.
Many Church groups run community programmes. The property they have may be used by groups taking advantage of the church halls and grounds for community events.
Are you being a little petty wanting to further tax those activities via the Church, who might need to pass on those costs?
You might not like the fact that churches get a discount, but some childless adults end up paying for schools in that same sense. And reserves are exempt, yet some people use them for recreation more than others - perhaps they should be privatised and charged for access then?
But of course, you have a bee in your bonnet about religious institutions, so I'll leave that particular cause for you to chase. There have been several legislative suggestions put forward over the last few years to end the exemptions, so you probably don't have too long to wait.