The Irish are waking up to hijinks of politicians and media there as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE72h-H5GiY
Leftist Marxist ideology is getting pushback world wide and not before time.
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The Irish are waking up to hijinks of politicians and media there as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE72h-H5GiY
Leftist Marxist ideology is getting pushback world wide and not before time.
Hey come on now - perhaps it was already partly submarine when it got noticed coming in
or there was a deep haze coming off the Marlborough vineyards with a pleasant odour
to distract .. no secret that Local Body outfits in that neck of the woods have a liking for
vineyards .. the bigger the acreage the better :)
GST is a regressive tax. Poorer families spend most of their after-income tax income on consumer items paying GST. Those with larger incomes can save more, and avoid paying GST. They can buy investor real estate from which most of their returns are by way of untaxed capital gains. Unlike many other countries there is no Duty payable on investor real estate purchases.
Well, I think it is true that any tax is regressive in that of course it will hit the poor hardest.
We try to ameliorate that to some extend with the tiered income tax system we have. Then working for families allows a number of families to effectively pay little or no tax. It can cause resentment over time and also be argued that taxpayers are subsiding employers from paying a true living wage. But that's another story.
With regards to GST, I do think there is an argument that as a true 'user pays' tax it would ensure the rich kick way more into the tin than the poor is is therefore 'fair'. Provided there are corresponding tax cuts to the lower income bands then it could be argued that whether the individual saves their extra cash or spends it all is an individual choice.
Provided the rich can't rort the system by being able to claim back GST by buying things as a 'business' expense.
I am not wedded to the idea, but just think it has some merit.
We seem to go the other way where if someone is broke we don't acknowledge the individual choice component for many. It seems that if you are poor it is always the fault of 'the system'. And so, over time state subsidies through things like WFF just get bigger and bigger and more and more people become dependent on one form of welfare or another.
We should be open to assessing all options, including an increase to GST with corresponding decrease to income tax.
I am open to all options.
As I have mentioned at length in the past, I think a CGT is warranted. I just caution about having too many exemptions and burdening any CGT with compliance and enforcement costs.
Maybe there is a magic formula somewhere with an increase to GST, introduction of a CGT and significant lowering of income tax that can help the govt diversify revenue streams in more equitable way.
But I am no tax expert, and its just an idea from a layman.
GST is a starkly regressive tax as a proportion of income and capital returns available to the taxpayer. Insofar as the poor have less ability to avoid paying it compared to the rich. Other taxes may well be adjusted in compensation.
Certainly with respect to poverty traps resulting from systemic issues and/or being the result of personal free choice, that is a complex area. Do accommodation supplements foster both a dependence by the recipients, as well as a dependence by the landlords who can offer a higher price for their investment in residential real estate in expectation that the government will help tenants pay higher rents. Does the taxpayer end up inflating the cost of housing and subsidising investors in residential real estate?