It is too easy to stick to conventional thinking when we are in a totally new economic environment. Thinking about distributional issues allows us to think deeper.
Read MoreDistribution and the Budget
GST
National needs a Capital Gains Tax - it's still borrowing to pay for tax cuts
The deficit-funded tax cuts that National gave the high income earners is still being paid for by borrowing.
When National won office at the end of 2008, they had a mandate to give median income earners a tax cut 'north of $50 a week'. At the time John Key made that promise he explicitly pledged not to increase GST to pay for it.
Read MoreNational & Labour offer same new years resolutions
National and Labour made very big , but very different announcements this week. However the political thinking behind them both was almost identical and was all about eliminating the negative
Read MoreLow tax for me, high tax for thee
Our tax system asks too much of those with little, and too little of those with much.
Read MoreWinston Peters past his sell-by date?
It only took a moment, an instinct to get the last word. But Winston Peter's closing remarks on Q+A raise questions about his conviction and comebackability
Read MoreHow Labour might rouse the beast
A well-managed Budget could still cause political problems for National if the Opposition is able to re-connect with New Zealanders who don't usually vote... let alone go to the symphony orchestra
Read MoreJobs, jobs, jobs – the Key task
National and Labour need to look beyond their differences on government taxes and borrowing. The real challenge ahead is how New Zealand avoids a jobless recovery
Prime Minister’s statement: taxing questions
The Green response to John Key’s tax policy statement raises questions about who they’re representing, and some bits of their policy they momentarily forgot
Read MorePM's speech: Time for a scrap
Key's likeability is about to be tested as he tells voters that GST is on the rise. At last parliament has something tangible to get its teeth into
Read MoreWho pays the price of tax cuts for the rich?
The Tax Working Group has concluded that it's just too hard to stop tax avoidance by the rich. Their solution is the tax equivalent of allowing doping in sport
Read MoreKa-boom: new taxes and transparency on their way
The Tax Working Group has set a new standard for transparency, so its report today won't exactly be full of surprises. That doesn't mean the political dynamite it contains will be any less explosive, however
Read MoreNational News Brief, Monday October 20
GST and taxes could jump in next five years; interest rate to dive; inflation at 18-year high; Key wants to work on lending guarantee; marriage breakdown could cost taxpayers $1b a year; Rings actors finally get payday; and more
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