Praise for CGT

The report is out and the pigeons are in a flap about it. I am sure that Simon Bridges was quoted out of context when he said that this tax will destroy the NZ way of life.

He must have meant that it would destroy the NZ way of life for the top 20 per cent.

The suited ones are crying out that small businesses will be disadvantaged when the hard working owner who has built up the business finally sells the business.

The complexities of this transaction are going to be too much to bear they say. Really? Two transactions.

One to get an initial valuation and then the final valuation which takes care of itself. It is what you get for selling the business. That can’t be too hard surely.

And certainly not too onerous for someone who has driven a leased Ford Ranger to work every day instead of a second hand Honda Civic.

No doubt claiming the lease cost off their tax as they went. You gain some and you lose some.

Now is probably a good time to point out that you do not pay capital gains tax as you build up your business or rent a house. Only when you exit.

Methinks many of the so-called investors that have been able to ride the housing bubble to untold riches should keep quiet about their unearned wealth increase lest they be seen as greedy.

It is not envy that suggests that a capital gains tax is necessary. It is fairness.

The people who pay PAYE are the majority, and they rarely buy expensive cars or $2 million houses. Many of them are too busy trying to put food on their tables. That should not happen in a country like NZ.

Geoff Orchard, Ohaupo