Tax Policy Welcome Contribution, But Missed Opportunity To Tackle Wealth Inequality

The Opportunity Party’s tax policy is a welcome contribution to the tax debate, but misses the opportunity to tackle wealth inequality and its impact on living standards for ordinary people, says the Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign.

“While it’s great to see a genuine attempt to address inequality through their proposed “citizens income”, the decision to promote a land tax rather than to fairly tax all forms of income and wealth leaves major gaps,” says Glenn Barclay, spokesperson for the Better Taxes campaign.

“We applaud their attempt to propose solutions to problems many people are facing in terms of job insecurity and insufficient income. But ultimately, we need to tackle the root causes of increasing inequality and declining living standards.”

“We also need to close the gaps in tax on big corporates and we need to ensure the wealthiest are paying their fair share. We know that the very wealthiest make most of their wealth not from property (including land), but through financial assets (such as shares in companies) and this wealth goes largely untaxed in New Zealand,” says Barclay.

“Just as the Opportunity Party’s policy came out, the OECD released their report on NZ’s economy, which included recommendations to more comprehensively tax gains from property and shares, and a windfall tax on capital gains from rezoning land. These recommendations highlight the need to take a more comprehensive approach to rebalancing our tax system.”

“Our Tax Policy Statement, sets out a mix of policies that could generate the revenue we need to fund the public services we all rely upon, while ensuring that big corporates and the wealthiest are contributing their fair share to maintaining these services that they depend on too,” says Barclay.

“Fairly taxing all forms of income and wealth is also critical to addressing increasing wealth inequality and supporting a more productive economy that generates jobs and supports good living standards for all.”

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