Capital Gains Tax

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackcap

Why do we need greater expenditure on defence, infrastructure, health and aged care on a per capita basis? You would think technology etc has granted efficiencies that would have led to reduced spending requirements? Maybe technology is not that efficient after all?

I was not debating the inflation adjustments on IT threshold and automatic inflation adjusted IT, they have merit on their own right. Inflation is a thief and has cost the tax payer dearly to the benefit of the beauracracy which seems to get larger and larger.

As Thomas Sowell is quoted as saying "Life in general has never been even close to fair, so the pretense that government can make it fair is a valuable and inexhaustible asset to politicians who want to expand government."

More and greater technology and treatments obviously mean more technological advance in more areas that needs to be paid for. However that requires the technological advances, that make the labour force more productive, need to be invested in. NZ's investment environment however is such that any money available is prioritised in making the price of land more expensive.

Previous governments of course did not provide the expenditure needed to service the level of immigration and population growth that their policies encouraged. So we will need to pay for the catch up now. There is now a backlog of expenditure needed to provide the infrastructure and services necessary.

You were debating an inflation adjustment for any CGT. Of course that naturally begs the question for inflation adjustments elsewhere in the tax system. You seemed to want "fairness" for the owners of assets in particular.

Compare NZ's Auckland.. to Melbourne.

Cost of living is actually lower in the latter, salaries higher and it's a nice place to live. Why even stay if you have NZ citizenship.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bjauck

Maybe overcapitalised was the wrong word. Ensuring good quality well insulated and appointed housing is not a waste of resources. The trouble is the cost of land is so high in NZ, resulting in less ability to afford a high standard for the improvements on the land.

Hence my concept about local & Central Government buying land, rezoning it to create new subdivisions etc.