Today’s GDP figures combined with the injustice of our tax system will mean more pain for our lowest-income households while those at the top remain relatively unscathed.

“Whether it’s high inflation or a manufactured recession, intentional Government policies see regular New Zealanders pay the price while the rich laugh their way to the bank,” says Green Party Co-Leader, Chlöe Swarbrick.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. We can have a tax system and economy that works for people and planet, instead of exploiting both. We don’t live in a game of Monopoly. The rules can and must change when they don’t work for the majority of people.

“Luxon’s Government has chosen to double down on trickle down tax cuts which disproportionately benefit the wealthiest by siphoning resources from those who need it and the creaking infrastructure all of us rely on.

“Today’s research from Tax Justice Aotearoa makes clear that National’s crying wolf that the wealthy would leave the country if they paid their fair share simply doesn’t add up. In Australia, England, America and several other comparable countries, those same people would pay far higher taxes and more fairly contribute to the social infrastructure necessary for them to generate that wealth in the first place.

“Nothing in this country is working as it should. Our hospitals, schools and public services are starved of the resources they need to thrive, and all of us pay the price of escalating inequality and a deteriorating social contract.

“A year ago, the IRD told us the wealthiest 311 households hold more wealth than the bottom two and a half million New Zealanders. That’s not an accident. It’s the consequence of a tax system that sees those at the top pay an effective tax rate less than half that of the average New Zealander.

“That means multi-multi-millionaires are paying a lower effective tax rate than nurses, teachers, firefighters and supermarket checkout operators. That’s unfair. It can and must change.

“The Greens campaigned unapologetically on ensuring the wealthiest pay their fair share. If we did that, we could introduce a tax-free bracket for income below $10,000, fund meaningful climate action, build tens of thousands of public houses, de-carbonise and reduce energy costs for homes, make dental care-free and invest in the infrastructure we all rely on for the country we all deserve,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.

© Scoop Media