Govt denies plan to exempt Mãori from capital gains tax

Any Mãori exemption from a capital gains tax would be a contradiction of fairness, says National leader Simon Bridges.

“If a capital gains tax is bad for Mãori, then it is bad for every New Zealander,” he said. “There shouldn’t be exemptions for some. That’s not the Kiwi way.”

The Tax Working Group report raised issues about the need for exemptions or deferrals on CGT for Mãori organisations in the interests of fairness but it did not include them in its formal recommendations. It said more work was needed to be done on that area.

It said that Mãori freehold land governed by Te Ture Whenua Mãori Act merited specific treatment by the Government, which could take the form of an exclusion or CGT delay.

The report said that with population growth, the shareholder base of such entities was perpetually diluted so any capital gain was very small.

The working group said deferral of CGT should apply to iwi transferring assets to associated hapu and marae, particularly after a Treaty of Waitangi settlement when assets are dispersed.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson dismissed Bridges statement on the basis there was no recommendation in the report excluding Mãori from a CGT. “Simon Bridges is wrong again — the Government is not proposing this,” said Robertson.