Tax

Click here to return to the policy homepage.

• Marginal tax rates are too high, particularly for families.
• Too much wasteful private sector effort is once again being devoted to devising ways around New Zealand tax laws.
• The system is increasingly seen as unfair.
• The tax scale has become too progressive, which is a disincentive to work harder and increase your income. It needs to be flattened. (more here)

• Begin a phased process of ecological tax reform by setting up an Ecological Tax Reform Commission to examine all existing taxes and possible new eco-taxes.
• Empower central and regional government to introduce a water levy on commercial users for all water used on a volume basis.
• Introduce a tax-free threshold of $10,000, and provide for a standard marginal tax rate of 19% from $10,000 to $42,500.
• Support the introduction of a comprehensive capital gains tax on inflation adjusted capital gains at the time the capital gains are realised.(more here)

• Remove GST from fresh fruit and vegetables.
• [Introduce a capital gains tax which] will be set at a simple low flat rate of 15% with no indexation for inflation.
• Labour believes that balance and fairness needs to be returned to the tax system, which is why it will introduce a 39% top tax rate for income over $150,000 and make the first $5,000 of income tax-free. (more here)

• The rising cost of living means that more people are struggling to make ends meet and provide a decent standard of living for their whānau.  The rising cost of kai, petrol, electricity, and rents have contributed to this, as well as the recent increase to GST.  Small increases in the minimum wage and the small tax cuts to low income earners have not been enough to meet these rising costs.
• Regulate family trusts and other tax avoidance devices.
• Significantly increase the tax take by introducing a “Tobin tax” on financial speculation.  This tax, which we call the “Hone Heke tax” (chopping down GST and income tax), would tax all financial transactions on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and in foreign exchange markets at a rate of 1%. (more here)
• Reintroduce estate duties to be paid via a progressive scale beginning with estates valued at over $500,000. (more here)

• Implement financial transaction tax which curbs the ability of speculators to make tax-free profits from short-term investments in our financial markets. The tax would also raise significant government revenue. (more here)

Not set out on their website.

• The present tax system means that people who have no dependents pay exactly the same amount of tax as people with dependents.
• Couples who are self-employed in farming or business and retired couples are already able to split their income for tax purposes but this is not available for those on PAYE incomes.
• According to the 2006 census, there were 310,000 two-parent families with dependent children (children under the age of 18 years, living at home) and most of these would benefit from income sharing. (more here)