“Te Pāti Māori’s tax policy, built over a $30 billion hole, would achieve the party’s goal of decolonisation because no one would be doing business with New Zealand,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“$23 billion of the hole stems from a wealth tax of 8 percent, more than double the highest comparable wealth tax. This amounts to the annual return of the NZX50 for the last ten years. If every dollar of return were to be taxed, there would be literally no reason to invest in New Zealand. Forget banks, forget infrastructure – New Zealand would be economically decolonised.

“TPM also claims there is $7 billion in tax evasion, and that they could get it all back with $500 million investment. If this is true, the Government could get $14 back for one easy dollar spent. Do they not think someone might have tried this before, or is it the case that New Zealand has one of the simplest and most effective tax systems already, and that opportunities for extra compliance are largely tapped out?

“TPM then says they can shift income tax onto higher incomes when the first $30,000 is tax free. They have a whole world of surprise coming – the biggest beneficiaries of this policy would be tax accountants as people figure out how to shift their lifetime income into the tax free bracket.

“A Foreign Companies Tax would apply a discriminatory tax to all foreign companies operating in New Zealand. This will functionally act as GST on many goods and services – there aren’t a whole lot of New Zealand-made mobile phones and cars, for example.

“A Land Banking Tax would punish everyone for the crime of owning undeveloped land. Everyone, that is, except Māori, “recognising the ongoing barriers to the development of Māori land.” With the Gordian knot of red tape that is the RMA, this is certainly not an exclusively Māori problem.

“The economic illiteracy shown by Te Pāti Māori’s tax policy shows how Labour could be even worse than they already are. Difficult to imagine, but the Māori Party just did our imagining for us.

“The Government must change, and the change must be real. Party Vote ACT.”

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