Fred99:

 

tdgeek:

 

Fred99:

 

sen8or:

 

Michael "Can we Tax it, Yes we Can" Cullen

 

 

The "tax on (almost) everything" (GST) wasn't his idea.

 

 

Kiwisaver, Super, Working For Families, were, they seem like sound ideas

 

 

I don't think WFF was a good idea at all:

 

it was an admission of defeat, that ordinary working people with children in the post-reform low-wage high-cost economy were struggling to get by.

 

It effectively penalised young people without children who were on low wages but not eligible for any WFF payment, and made it harder for them to get ahead as it cemented the low-wage economy - combined with a double-whammy for that generation with tertiary fees and repaying student loans, at a time in life when you should be trying to put money aside for your future life, a deposit on a house etc.

 

Instead of giving away money, I'd have rather seen an all-out attack on low wages, "real" job creation, and a high tax-free threshold.

 

 

 

Isnt a high tax free threshold giving away money? And more than WFF as that is effectively a high tax threshold but just for families. If taxes are low, then the wages are under less pressure to rise, especially as where does these tax breaks get funded from? If wages are increased, costs get passed on. If we upskilled every single worker, we still have the same jobs that need to get done. We would then be either better skilled and doing the same job, or also getting paid more to do the same job, someone has to cover those costs. There is no easy solution as Govt revenue is not unlimited, in fact its very tight, same for many people.