Quote Originally Posted by fungus pudding View Post
Couldn't agree less. We have to have some sort of tax or taxes. NZ GST system is extremely effective and easy to administer. Income tax is a necessary evil, and although we all have different views on the rates and progressions, it's relatively simple to apply and administer.
I am not sure that income tax is particular easy to apply and administer as the court cases, accountants fees and laws as to what constitutes income, dividends, profits etc attest to.

Why couldn’t capital transfer taxes (death and gift) be the necessary evil? We have to agree to differ on this.

People are taxed twice before they just obtain the necessities for life - first by way of PAYE deducted from wages and then by way of GST on food and goods. It is highly regressive. Forget about a flat tax - the NZ system has a regressive system with those with the most gains (both capital and income) ending up paying the smallest percentage in tax.