Ma¯ori Party wants halt on immigration

The Ma¯ori Party wants a capital gains tax and a halt on immigration until the housing crisis is fixed. The party, which is campaigning to return to Parliament after being ousted at the 2017 election, says if elected in October it will build 2000 houses on Ma¯ori land, strictly allocate 50 per cent of new social housing to Ma¯ori, and place a 2 per cent tax on vacant ‘‘ghost’’ houses. Ma¯ori Party co-leader John Tamihere told Stuff the ‘‘supply of housing is in disarray’’. ‘‘What sort of package would you put in place to ensure that Kiwis have got an opportunity to get onto the housing ladder? ... You’ve got to have capital gains tax, you’ve got to have a vacancy tax to bring present stock back into play.’’ The Ma¯ori Party wants a capital gains tax set at 2 per cent of appreciation per annum on homes that are not the wha¯nau, or family, home. This policy differs from the prospective capital gains tax considered by the Labour-led Government, which would have taxed capital gains only when a house was sold. Tamihere said immigration should be halted beyond existing New Zealand residents bringing family members into the country and visas for skilled workers – or roughly the current settings at the border, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.