Today, Revenue Minister David Parker announced the results of a long-awaited IRD report which showed the tax system was unfair. This has been well known for a long time. Yet, Kiwis are left waiting for an actual plan from the Government to build a fairer tax system.

The Opportunities Party is challenging the Government to stop punishing hard-working Kiwis struggling with the costs of living, and implement a tax switch that sees the unearned gains from land prices captured in exchange for income tax cuts.

Parker expressed concern that the wealthiest New Zealanders are paying an effective tax at half the rate of ordinary people, but made clear today that he was not announcing “any new tax policy or tax switch.”

The lack of action of implementing a fairer tax system isn’t good enough, says Leader of the Opportunities Party Raf Manji.

“We cannot continue to have more working groups and committees discussing this issue without taking any action. It is time to shift our focus to a fairer tax system that ensures everyone pays their fair share.”

Manji suggests the Government needs to get on board with The Opportunities Party’s plan for a fairer tax system that was announced in October last year.

“Our plan is simple with three parts - save, shift and switch. We would introduce a tax-free threshold of $15,000 and replace the current tax thresholds providing $5.8 billion of income tax cuts, in exchange for a land value tax of 0.75% of the value of urban residential land.”

“Our tax-free threshold of $15,000 would make a real, immediate difference for the 1.7 million kiwis on low-medium incomes. Australia does this already, and so should we.”

Manji remains defiant on the need for a land value tax too, noting that until unearned gains in land prices are captured we will continue to see a significant wealth gap between the country’s wealthiest and the rest of the population.

“As Leader of The Opportunities Party, I am committed to creating a fairer and more equal society. We need to address the issue of New Zealand’s broken tax system. Kiwis don’t want more talk, they want action. And that’s exactly what we will provide this election - a fairer tax system for everyone.”

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