We've been waiting for some time now and finally the Tax Working Group have arrived at their conclusion: New Zealand needs a Capital Gains Tax (CGT). Well blow me down, that was a surprise finding (not).
The problem with a CGT in NZ is that an investment property is a hobby for many. The share market is small and mom and pop investors don't feel safe putting their money there, even though you can get better returns in stocks (don't get me started). Any government introducing a CGT is making a very foolish move as the people most affected are the ones who vote. Those mostly unaffected (at least not yet) are the young. Even people on low incomes manage to get themselves an investment property. Basically it's the sort of thing that tax specialists get excited over, politicians get greedy for, but everyone else just gets pissed off.
My advice: forget the proposal, throw it in the bin.
No comments:
Post a Comment