17-08-2023, 04:53 PM
The wealthy absolutely do pay their "fair share" of income tax at far higher % than the poor and middle classes.
The recent reports asserting the contrary, included estimates of unrealised capital growth as "income" and it was only by doing that that they could "show" that the rich were paying a lower rate.
There is a pervasive myth that rich people can dodge tax by using trusts and companies, when that just isn't true. Yes, trusts can currently be used to dodge the top 39% rate, but that loophole gets shut at the end of this year and trusts have still been taxed at 33%.
Someone with $50K annual income pays $8K tax at 16%. Someone with $500K annual income, using the trust "loophole", and splitting between them and their partner, pays $147K at 29%. From next year, that'll increase to $155K at 31%. Someone with $5M annual income pays $1.6M tax at 33% and, from next year, that goes up to $1.9M at 38%.
I've read the Green's tax policy and it is abundantly apparent that either they don't actually have a proper understanding of our current tax system or they're being deliberately misleading to appeal to the emotions of the general public who definitely don't properly understand out tax system. Either way, it is full of untruths and misleading partial truths.
The Maori Party policy is event worse. It is so amateurish and reads more like a high school accounting class project than a policy document from a political party wanting to have actual control over other people's lives.
The recent reports asserting the contrary, included estimates of unrealised capital growth as "income" and it was only by doing that that they could "show" that the rich were paying a lower rate.
There is a pervasive myth that rich people can dodge tax by using trusts and companies, when that just isn't true. Yes, trusts can currently be used to dodge the top 39% rate, but that loophole gets shut at the end of this year and trusts have still been taxed at 33%.
Someone with $50K annual income pays $8K tax at 16%. Someone with $500K annual income, using the trust "loophole", and splitting between them and their partner, pays $147K at 29%. From next year, that'll increase to $155K at 31%. Someone with $5M annual income pays $1.6M tax at 33% and, from next year, that goes up to $1.9M at 38%.
I've read the Green's tax policy and it is abundantly apparent that either they don't actually have a proper understanding of our current tax system or they're being deliberately misleading to appeal to the emotions of the general public who definitely don't properly understand out tax system. Either way, it is full of untruths and misleading partial truths.
The Maori Party policy is event worse. It is so amateurish and reads more like a high school accounting class project than a policy document from a political party wanting to have actual control over other people's lives.