I have heard a lot about tax and the economy in the last few months – I guess we all have.
I don’t mind paying tax – in fact, I relish it.
I once worked with a guy who was on a really good wage, but he always insisted on working on an invoice basis rather than going on the payroll. One day, he explained why: every year his accountant bought a failed company. All the invoices were run through this company, and no tax was paid because the company had debts.
This guy effectively got paid exactly what he billed for, despite having a large property and a second property and several cars. He paid not a cent of income tax.
Just to further disgust me, this guy wrote about cars and constantly complained, in print, that NZ’s roads were appalling.
National’s platform is on decreasing tax to ‘empower’ spending. This empowers, in turn, some people to smoke, get drunk, take drugs and gamble. Which in turn infers that some NZ people are stupid, uncontrollable, susceptible to the basest of urges and happy to throw away their money to no good end.
Frankly, and unfortunately, this is true – as it is of every other population.
It’s just as true that the class of Khandallah Remuerarites will happily take any tax ‘incentives’ the National government hands out to have more holidays in a fascist state like Fiji rather than make things better for the workers who keep them propped up. Once again, this class exists all over the world.
There is a very good case that income removed from the general population, and then spent on the welfare of that general population (roads, schools and hospitals spring to mind) is better for that population. New Zealand pioneered this welfare state.
A caring state engenders patriotism, enthusiasm and equality.
The case is obvious, tried, proven and clear.
National’s tax policy would be fair to New Zealanders, said John Key.
Fair?
That means “in accordance with the rules or standards; legitimate: the group has achieved fair and equal representation for all its members.”
Also “just or appropriate in the circumstances”.
As an adverb, it’s defined as “without cheating or trying to achieve unjust advantage.”
Fair?
I know John Key is not the most literate man in New Zealand. In fact, sometimes he can barely talk. Perversely, this seems to have made him more popular with average New Zealanders. God help us.
But surely he knows what ‘fair’ means?
But ‘fair’ is subjective, isn’t it? John Key is being fair to his class, which includes people like Mark Hotchin of Hanover Finance. This is the guy who ran Hanover until it fell over, leaving lots of investors bereft of their savings.
Hotchin, who in my opinion is an arsehole – sorry, that’s really not fair: ‘prize arsehole’ – is currently living in abject luxury in Hawaii. (John Key has a luxurious house in Hawaii.)
Hotchin’s multi-million dollar Auckland mansion is almost finished, and now on the market because he’s worried about coming back here. As he bloody well should be. And he has a pad in Sydney. Plainly he’s hurting. He thinks New Zealanders dislike him … and he is most likely filled with a deep remorse about the suffering he’s caused.
Like hell. He couldn’t care less.
For me, paying tax is a moral issue. I choose to live in New Zealand. It supports me. I support it with my volunteer efforts and my taxes.
Of course, I want a government to spend the tax take wisely on our behalf – something the National government has never excelled at.
Pay your tax and demand accountability from the government.