04 Mar Capital Gains Tax
There have been many opinion pieces written about the proposed Capital Gains Tax, with some touting it as a ‘levelling of the playing field’ while others predict doomsday. More than enough people have already put their opinions forward, and the last thing we want to do is add more emotion to the debate.
However, there are a few facts that seem to get lost in the hype:
1. This is just a proposal by a working group, there are innumerable obstacles to overcome IF the current government wished to pursue it
2. New Zealand is in the minority of OECD countries WITHOUT some form of comprehensive capital gains tax, and when other countries have put it into place, it hasn’t caused the economy to collapse
3. If it is implemented, it will probably look different to what has been proposed, as politicians like to get their sticky fingers involved
4. If paying tax on an investment makes it non-viable, perhaps it wasn’t the best investment in the first place.
To be clear, we’re not suggesting we are either for, nor against a capital gains tax. However, many of the opinions put forward from all along the spectrum seem to be fairly selective with what facts they put forward. But that’s just our opinion!
