Free Press : ACT’s regular bulletin
Free Press :ACT’s regular bulletin
Trudeau I
As a conviction politician,
Pierre Trudeau changed Canada. Mostly for the worse, but he
did have some good convictions such as declaring that the
‘state has no place in the bedroom.’
Take
II
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks poised to
legalise Assisted Dying in all of Canada. The Supreme Court
said making people with terminal conditions choose between
lonely suicide and ongoing suffering was a ‘cruel
choice’ and inconsistent with the charter of rights and
freedoms (introduced 34 years ago by Trudeau I).
The Bill
The bill is not dissimilar
to David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill. It allows
people at the end of their life who are suffering
intolerably to choose how they go, safeguarded by the rule
of law. If anything the Canadians are more radical,
allowing people to make an advanced directive (i.e. sign a
declaration that you’d like an assisted death in the
future if you yourself lose the ability to decide).
The Politics
After the Trudeau
Liberal landslide earlier this year, the legislation will
almost certainly pass as a Government Bill. It is a shame
that the Lecretia Seales case has not led to the Government
of New Zealand showing the same leadership.
What’s Happening Here?
We are often
asked what is happening with Assisted Dying in New Zealand.
Two things. The Health Select Committee is considering
Maryan Street’s petition on public attitudes to Assisted
Dying. Public feedback has overwhelmed the Clerk of the
committee. The Committee is expected to produce a report
but no bill. David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill
remains in the ballot where it is literally the luck of the
draw.
The Odds
There are about 73
bills in the ballot at any given time. How many are drawn
out depends on what happens with other bills, for example
how many get voted down at first reading. We expect about a
dozen to be drawn so David’s bill has about a one-in-five
chance this year. If it is drawn, we will be ready.
A Beat Up
Free Press has sought the
highest quality advice on the Panama Papers release. It is
a beat up of the highest order. David Seymour told a
journalist this and they had conniptions: ‘b…b…but,
60,000 pages say New Zealand is a tax haven.’ Of course
none of the pages say that but the journo’s question tells
us how some in the New Zealand press think.
Issue One: Global Tax
Competition
While not directly connected to the
Panama Papers, there is a global campaign against big-name
companies alleged to not pay their ‘fair share.’ Even
the Paris-based OECD concedes that there is little proof of
Base Erosion and Profit Shifting to back up the political
clamour surrounding it.
Wait,
What?
The OECD is hardly filled with Ayn Rand
types. Nonetheless its ‘objective and comprehensive’
report ‘Addressing Base Erosion and Profit Shifting’
says: Governments get more company tax as a percentage of
GDP than they did 20 years ago, despite nearly every one
having dropped their company rates.
Why Have
They Dropped their Rates?
Almost every
government has been slashing company tax rates. The average
rate among OECD countries was 32.6% in the year 2000. By
2011 it was 25.4%. They are doing it to compete for company
tax revenues, and now accuse companies of shifting their
activities.
Meanwhile in
Aotearoa
Our company tax rate is 28 per cent.
The OECD countries (mostly European welfare states) have
leapfrogged us. New Zealand has an imputation credit regime
that is the envy of the world, but all countries have their
own exemptions so our effective tax rate on foreign capital
is still relatively high.
Who was behind the
Panama Paper leak?
The European welfare states
are stuffed. High taxes, big debts, bad demographics.
Their inflexible labour markets shut out newcomers, which
leads to high unemployment and is one driver of terrorism.
They need to reform their policies and cut their taxes to
grow, but instead they are busy trying to stop taxpayers
escaping.
ACT’s Take
All
countries are now competing for investment activity by
lowering their taxes on it. ACT says cut corporate welfare
and use the savings to cut the company tax rate. Make
profitable businesses competitive on the world stage.
Issue Two: Civil Liberties
Once upon
a time the Green Party stuck up for civil liberties, such as
the Free Tibet movement. When Panama hit they tabled a bill
to publish details of all foreign trusts held in New
Zealand. How many people under oppressive regimes would be
in danger of violent extortion if these details were
revealed? We miss the principled days of Jeanette
Fitzsimons and Rod Donald.
Issue Three: Tall
Poppies
John Shewan is a man of impeccable
character. The attempted character assassinations by
Winston Peters under parliamentary privilege are a disgrace.
The sad thing is he probably could say the same in public
because a test for libel is that a reasonable person would
believe you.
But What About the
Trusts?
Over the past decade there has been an
enormous increase in information sharing amongst tax
departments. Despite the beat up, New Zealand has signed
every major tax information sharing agreement and responded
to every foreign request for information. The ball is back
in the beaters’ court, what exactly do they want New
Zealand law to be? The most telling thing is they can’t
tell you.
Meet the Mayors
Closer
to home (Aucklanders) if you’d like to meet Vic Crone,
Phil Goff, and Mark Thomas and quiz them on their mayoral
ambitions, ACT is hosting drinks and pizza with the three of
them on Wednesday 27th in Auckland. You can register here.
ends