Gordon Campbell: On Luxon Living In Denial About His Privilege

Ever tried pulling yourself up by your bootstraps? Its really hard to do. Patting yourself on the back is easier, and PM Christopher Luxon (“I get it: I’m wealthy, I’m sorted”) seems to have a real gift for it. To no-one’s surprise, Luxon’s latest bout of self-congratulation was entirely irrelevant to the actual point at issue. Which was: shouldn’t New Zealand tax the income earned from capital gains, for the same reason that we tax the income earned from wages? As a bonus, a capital gains tax would also channel some investment away from housing speculation and into productive investment.