Maori Party questions tax review

Proposals for tax reform show a lack of imagination and creative thinking, according to Maori Party co-leader Dr Pita Sharples.

“Tax is all about who pays what share of the nation’s bills, and that goes to the heart of a party’s political philosophy,” said Dr Sharples.

“The Maori Party’s policy is to remove GST from food, and to exempt the first $25,000 of personal income from tax, to protect the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society,” he said.

“Proposals to cut the top rate of income tax have the opposite effect, giving a disproportionate advantage to the highest earners – although it seems many of them have not been paying their fair share of tax in the past anyway.

“While the Maori Party generally supports taxes on assets and wealth, there are aspects of land tax that particularly affect Maori, and these have not been mentioned in the report,” said Dr Sharples.

“For example, Maori land is not generally a commercial asset, because owners are culturally bound not to sell it, but to keep it for future generations. As a result, Maori land often cannot be used as collateral to raise finance for economic development.

“You only have to look at the endless controversy over valuation and rating of Maori land to see the fishhooks that lie in a tax on Maori land. Has the committee considered these particular impacts on Maori?

“The Maori Party is also interested in fundamentally different sources of revenue, such as a tax on financial transactions. This could generate enough revenue to replace income tax completely. Has the Tax Review Working Party considered this option, which is gaining credence around the world?

“At a wider level, the Maori Party says conventional accounting for the national economy is inadequate. We advocate a Genuine Progress Index, to gather and integrate data on our economic, social, environmental and cultural performance, and the heritage that we will be leaving for future generations,” said Dr Sharples.