Quote Originally Posted by kiora View Post
Windfall tax anyone?
"NZME is now in the process of returning $15m in cash to shareholders through share buy-backs and special dividends. It is not the only one. Fletcher Building received $68m in wage subsidy cash during 2020 and has refused to repay it, despite an increasingly robust profit and balance sheet. It paid $140m of cash dividends to shareholders in April this year after reporting solid profit growth and a strong outlook because of a boom in house building and building materials sales. NZME and Fletcher Building are just two among many large and small New Zealand companies that have refused to repay the cash, despite reporting profit growth and higher cash reserves."
https://www.interest.co.nz/public-po...y+26+July+2022
You know when I first came to NZ 20+ years ago I thought; small country = easier to implement BETTER policies than the larger countries ; more remote from other major trading nations = less negative influence, etc.

The gov't handout of $$ directly to companies was never a good thing. They don't do it that way in Canada where the subsidy payments are only given to the individual. When I see the NZ subsidy payment system where the EMPLOYER is filing the application for their EMPLOYEEs.... I knew this would be nothing but a freebee handout to the benefit of the corporations. In America, individuals there received a cheque (even more decentralised compared to Canada where the individual's tax return is tied to the subsidy payment; which on most part is received directly into their bank account). US has a similar model tied to the individual's tax return. If they earn more than $90K (if I recall correctly that figure), then they receive no Coivid cheque payment. Why did our NZ gov't not have the smarts or knowledge to see that companies in NZ would take advantage of the situation? All this trying to do things different because we are NZ only hurts us more. Can't reinvent the wheel enough times to make a statement.