by frog
Nice work by Winston adopting this longstanding Green policy from 2002 to remove all income tax on the first $5000 of income, for everyone:
Mr Peters said the party also wanted the first $5200 of income tax-free. That would help the low paid and part-time workers, but also pensioners, who pay tax on their superannuation.
If he’s running short, we’ve got other policies he might like too.
Published in Campaign | Economy, Work, & Welfare | Parliament by frog on Wed, May 21st, 2008
Tags: , income tax, tax, winston peters
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
I doubt there is any pollution tax involved though…
I can’t believe pensioners pay tax on super! Thats POINTLESS.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
StephenR, It’s pointless for superannuitants, but for beneficiaries it means they can argue that “I pay taxes too ya know!” Perhaps someone bleeding heart liberal actually thinks it makes a huge psycholgical difference to beneficiaries that they pay PAYE as well as GST.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
Yes, Stephen R., superannuitants and beneficiaries pay tax. I have always thought it rather strange. Surely it is just ‘make work’ for IRD.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
Another example of administrative ‘churn’ I think. Probably the most pointless i’ve ever heard of! Another example would be WFF i.e. taxing them then giving it back, but i’m not sure what other ways there are to target specific groups e.g. people with dependents.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
Winston will steal any policy if he thinks it will get him past the magic 5% so he can be the kin-maker again.
Someone put him on the Supreme court bench quick so we can be rid of him as a policy maker and leave him to stew in some of the crazy laws he’s helped create.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
since ird isn’t the department which pays benefits i always assumed it was simply easier (and that means cheaper) for ird to tax everyone rather than having a stack of exemptions, & let the government make up the difference by adjusting the gross pay of beneficiaries & superannuitants.
regarding winston turns green – this can only be a good thing, & if national & labour turned green too, even better. parties should absolutely borrow each others policies when there is merit in them, & get off the perpetual knee-jerk adverserial setting
i’m waiting for the greens to see the environmental merit in limiting population growth & borrow nz1sts immigration policies
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
# joy Says:
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:54 am
> Yes, Stephen R., superannuitants and beneficiaries pay tax. I have always thought it rather strange. Surely it is just ‘make work’ for IRD.
I think it’s done to push any earnings a beneficiary makes from a part-time job into the secondary tax bracket rather than the primary tax bracket.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
So the government is going for the 12.5 cents tax rate – from I October to $14,000 and from 1 April 2010 $17,500 and 1 April 2011 $20,000.
The “ideological” reason for doing this, instead having a no income tax threshold to say $5000 and then a 15 cent rate up to $20,000 (there is no difference for the person in full-time work earning over $20,000), is to limit the size of the tax cut to people on benefits, student allowances, those in casual or part-time work (housewives and teenagers at school).
It speaks to which voters have no voice with the two major parties, students, beneficiaries and others out of the full-time work force.
Cullen specifically said that he was focusing support on the low income workers – not support for those on the low income for a few years.
So it’s official, poverty is tolerated, provided it only lasts for a few years. The few years of study, the few years between jobs, the few years a divorced women spends on the DPB with her children.
I wonder how long some people have spent on IB and SB? But I guess many of them are Maori and Polynesians, those who will never live to see the golden years of Super payments at middle class welfare levels.
All things, the Greens should note.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
And speaking of pointless taxes, how much longer can this gov’t (and many more around the world) get away with taxing interest earned on savings, equity dividends etc? If you’re lucky enough to have anything left over from the weekly pay packet, ALREADY NET OF TAX, goes in the bank, and guess what…we’re taxed again on the interest earned…tax on tax, double whammy nasty. Low wages aside, is it any wonder there is no savings mentality in NZ? No incentive when at least 19.5% of it gets clobbered. The whole definition of “taxable income” needs to be re-defined. There’s an even more agressive school of thought out there that says the IRD have no legal grounds to collect income tax, slavery was abolished how many years ago?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
Depends if you’re keen on public services or not aye
first point good, though I spose we have reduced savings tax through Kiwisaver…
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)