Capital gains tax is a generally sound idea

AS a landlord and owner of a travel writing business, I support the introduction of a capital gains tax or something similar. It is the only fair solution.

We should not have a situation in which only some people pay taxes on their profits, and others do not.

However, I worry about the difficulty of valuing general businesses like my travel writing business. And, let’s face it, the tax is primarily aimed at clawing back real estate windfalls.

Why not confine it to the real estate sector? Or, better still, put a tax on land value.

Our local body rates are mostly very low by world standards in New Zealand: less than a quarter of 1% of home price in Auckland and Queenstown, against nearly 2% of home price in several US states.

There’s room to put in a land tax, especially if other taxes are lowered to compensate.

Oh, but I remember now. The Government’s ruled out a land tax.

So, I guess my travel writing business will have to be valued each year after all. Mary Jane Walker

Queenstown

IT was interesting to read (ODT, 23.2.19) comments made by the REINZ chief executive that the capital gains tax proposed by the Government would have ‘‘a punitive impact on the investment sector’’.

She also stated that it would lead to ‘‘a drop in house prices as it meant there would be more houses on the market.’’ The increased supply of houses would cause house prices to drop.

Isn’t that exactly what is needed in New Zealand? We desperately need more housing at lower prices for young people on low salaries.

A CGT should have been brought in years ago but National would not accept that there was a housing shortage and this ostrichlike approach has led to the New Zealand housing market being so inequitable now.

In spite of being a holiday home owner, I congratulate the Labour Government on its enlightened move towards introducing more realistically priced housing.

Jeanette McQuillan

Opoho

AMY Adams screeched that the proposed capital gains tax is an ‘‘attack on New Zealanders’’, on farmers and bach owners.

As Michael Cullen observed, not many of us actually own baches, and even fewer of us are farmers, especially since National oversaw the alienation of many farms to overseas corporates.

What Amy really meant was it is a progressive tax, which by ensuing tax cuts will redistribute wealth from the rich to workers and the poor. That’s exactly why the greedy class are so angered by this proposal.

They loved John Key’s unaffordable tax windfall, but when it’s time to actually contribute to the country and its less welloff people, the screeching starts.

Ewan McDougall

Broad Bay

THE capital gains tax recommendations of the Cullen report will place an unmanageable burden on valuers at an unacceptable cost to taxpayers due to draconian valuation day requirements.

All hardworking business owners, the backbone of this country’s economy and the reason for record low unemployment, can relax as even the current crop of coalition politicians are bright enough to put their socialistic inclinations aside and understand that the people of this country are way too savvy to be hoodwinked into this unworkable tax.

Thankfully, ‘‘valuation day’’ will never arrive, but the question remains how certain intelligent members of the tax working group could put their name to such an abomination. Bruce Eliott

Arrowtown