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Key rules out land tax, CGT, RFRM, but still considering income tax cut and GST hike (Update 5)
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
By Bernard Hickey
Prime Minister John Key has announced in his opening speech to parliament that a land tax, a Capital Gains Tax and a tax on equity in residential property investments would not be considered in the May 2010 budget and had been ruled out by the Government. It was however looking at unspecified measures suggested by the Tax Working Group to tax property more to help pay for an unspecified reduction in the top personal tax rate.
(Updates with My view that Key exposed himself today as a timid follower, not a leader. Update 3 includes reaction link. Update 4 includes link to video of Key’s tax comments. Update 5 includes link to full speech)
“Some of the options discussed by the Tax Working Group are not favoured by the Government, for a variety of reasons, and will not be progressed,” Key said in speech notes prepared for the address and obtained under embargo by Interest.co.nz in Wellington.
“In particular, we will not be developing any proposals for a land tax, a comprehensive capital gains tax, or a risk-free return method (RFRM) for taxing residential investment properties,” Key said.
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