Richest Kiwis pay about half as much on the $ as the rest of us

[Lilith7]

Does this strike anyone else as deeply unfair & in dire need of changing - preferably tomorrow, or is it fine with everyone else?

Very canny though - govt saying its 'just for the information' because there's an election not far off so as not to put the wind up the opposition while doing precisely that.

Cue ACT paranoia...


https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/1318628...-zealander

[b]"IR study finds wealthiest Kiwis pay about 10% tax, once all income and GST is included.[/b]

• [b]For the average Kiwi, the figure is about 20%.[/b]
• [b]The Treasury says wealthiest 1% own more than a quarter of the country’s wealth.[/b]
• [b]The findings are expected to trigger a debate about tax reform.[/b]

The wealthiest New Zealanders pay on average only 8.9% tax on their income, according to a long-awaited study of 311 rich-listers conducted by Inland Revenue.

Revenue Minister David Parker said the low tax rate was explained by the fact they received about 80% of their income in form of capital gains, much of which was earned through trusts and companies and which was often untaxed.

A separate Treasury study, also released on Wednesday, estimated that the average Kiwi effectively paid 20.2% tax on their income, once GST and benefits they received from the Government were taken into account.

There has been speculation that Parker hopes the revelation on how much tax the wealthy pay on their income will increase the public’s appetite for a broader tax on capital gains or a wealth tax or inheritance tax.

However, Parker said he wanted “to be clear today that I am not announcing any new tax policy or tax switch”.

Labour’s tax policy would be announced before the election, he said.

“While views differ on what constitutes a fair tax system, they need to be grounded in real facts and real data,” he said.

"For the first time, we now have that real data, thanks to this report.”

Parker said IR’s report was not about attacking the very wealthy, but said in response to questions that he did intend to fix the tax system.

“I am on record as saying we need a fair tax system,” he said, acknowledging he had voiced support for a comprehensive tax on capital gains in the past, but adding that was “not necessarily the best or only solution”.

“You have to look to countries like the US to find extremes that are similar to ours,” he said."