Challenges Of The 2023 Budget All Point To The Importance Of Better Taxes

Priorities signalled in today’s Budget all point to the need for a tax and revenue system that is equipped to safeguard the future wellbeing of all New Zealanders, says Tax Justice Aotearoa chair Glenn Barclay.

“A better future for all New Zealanders won’t happen without a fundamental move to build better and fairer taxes,” says Glenn Barclay. “It’s that simple”.

“It is disappointing that government after government keeps kicking the need for making major changes to taxes down the road. This just creates an environment of underinvestment, and the consequences of that are seen in media headlines in Aotearoa every day.

“Tax Justice Aotearoa is encouraged that today’s Budget has included the move to bring the trustee tax rate in line with the top personal tax rate, as recommended by officials.

"It is a small step in the right direction towards a fairer and more transparent system. By bringing trustee tax rates into line with top personal tax rates it means New Zealand will no longer be behind Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

“The appetite for more changes is growing. The Newshub Reid Research poll this week showed a clear majority, 53.1 percent, said yes to a better tax on wealth. As reported by Newshub it was a poll that signals that voters want serious changes made to taxes.

“On top of that in the last week we have seen at sharingwealth.nz that not all wealthy people object to paying more taxes.

“This election year Tax Justice Aotearoa wants to see more forward-thinking tax policies from political parties because tax reforms are fundamental to meeting the future challenges outlined in today’s Budget," says Glenn Barclay.

“Debating how we meet and pay for those urgent challenges cannot be sidestepped or ignored any longer.

“What’s missing for better Budgets to happen are better taxes.

"For the public good we need a broader tax base to deliver revenue sufficient to build better infrastructure and housing, for better education prospects, for better health outcomes, for better public services and for better responses to absorbing the rolling shocks of the mounting climate emergency.

“The scale and breadth of challenges covered in today’s Budget - from child poverty to community resilience - demand urgency and they depend on better taxes not less taxes”.

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