Source: Radio New Zealand
Deborah Russell says it’ not the first time National has “lied” about Labour’s CGT policy. RNZ / REECE BAKER
Labour’s revenue spokesperson has clarified the only tax policy the party will be campaigning on is its already-announced capital gains tax – and has put her “full support” behind it.
It follows accusations from National that Labour was sending “mixed signals” on its tax policy, after Deborah Russell said there were “good suggestions” in a document calling for changes to the tax system.
On Wednesday, lobby group Tax Justice Aotearoa released its latest Tax Policy Statement, setting out proposals to “rebalance” the tax system.
The policy statement contained proposals including a tax surcharge on big corporates (such as a levy on major banks), a windfall profits tax, closing the shareholder loans tax loophole, moving the top tax bracket to $150,000 (as well as a tax-free threshold on the first $5000 of people’s incomes), a high-wealth tax, trusts tax, and wealth transfer tax.
Labour’s revenue spokesperson Deborah Russell told The Post there were some “really good suggestions” in the document, but “whether or not we would take them all up is a different matter”.
The party has released its tax policy for the election, which comprises a 28 percent capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale of investment and commercial properties from July 2027.
The revenue would be ring-fenced into a proposal to fund three free GP visits a year.
Russell told The Post Labour would “of course” have more tax policy than that, but it would be “centred around the integrity of the tax system and the transparency of it”.
The New Zealand Herald also reported Russell was “comfortable” with the CGT policy but would not say whether she felt it went far enough.
Her comments prompted National’s campaign chair Simeon Brown to issue a press release suggesting Russell had “pulled back the curtain” on more taxes.
“Labour has already announced a capital gains tax that would target households, KiwiSavers, and every single business in the country. Now, Ms Russell has made it clear they are open to going even further,” Brown said.
Simeon Brown put out a press release after Russell’s comments. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Labour has previously said the family home, farms, KiwiSaver, and other assets would be exempt from its CGT policy.
The Taxpayers’ Union also said the comments rang “alarm bells” for taxpayers.
“When the person in charge of tax policy won’t rule out going further, it’s a clear signal this tax could expand,” said spokesperson Tory Relf.
Russell told RNZ it was important different groups and people could present their views on New Zealand’s tax system, and while there were some “interesting ideas” in the document, “Labour has been clear that the only tax policy [we] will be campaigning on is our simple targeted capital gains tax, which nine out of ten New Zealanders will not pay.”
Russell said the CGT would shift investment from property speculation into the productive economy, level the playing field for businesses, and create jobs.
“I am in full support of the policy and I am looking forward to campaigning on it.”
She said it was not the first time National had “lied” about Labour’s CGT policy.
“We are absolutely clear that the only tax policy we are campaigning on is our tightly targeted capital gains tax.”
Asked what kinds of things Labour was looking at around the transparency and integrity of the tax system, Russell said it was not a policy to campaign on, and was something all governments were required to do.
“The law requires that the Minister of Revenue protect the integrity of the tax system to ensure the tax system is working as intended. These are usually technical fixes, and something every Minister of Revenue needs to do, regardless of which government is in power,” she said.
Tax Justice Aoteaora spokesperson Glenn Barclay said successive polls had shown solid support for tax reform and properly funding public services.
“New Zealanders realise maintaining the status quo is not an option,” he said.
Barclay said New Zealand was a low tax country compared to many other developed nations, and was not gathering enough revenue to fund “the things that matter for us to live good lives” like fully-staffed hospitals, affordable housing, resilient infrastructure, and nutritious school lunches.
“We rely very heavily on income tax and GST, so working people are carrying more of the load of funding our public services. And our failure to properly tax wealth and big corporates directly contributes to increasing inequality, erodes living standards and opportunities for ordinary people, like working towards owning your own home,” Barclay said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
