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False START at IRD
Inland Revenue’s new IT system, implemented in February for their GST services, has been a disappointment. According to official data from IRD, the time spent handling GST related enquiries increased by 50% when the system was first introduced in February earlier this year. As of August, months after implementation,...
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Auckland Council second highest rates in NZ (and they tried to hide it)
Auckland Council has been caught out providing false information regarding the average rates paid by Auckland households, with revised figures showing that Aucklanders pay the second highest rates in New Zealand.Over multiple years, officials have provided incorrect information to the Taxpayers’ Union and Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance researchers under...
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It's the corporate welfare which is the problem
An article published last week by Fairfax has left an incorrect impression on the reason why the Taxpayers' Union objects to the Government signing an R&D cooperation agreement with Israel. The Union wishes to clarify that it is the nature of the agreement – that Callaghan Innovation's corporate welfare R&D grants will favour companies working with...
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Apology from LGNZ
The Taxpayers’ Union has accepted a settlement and apology from Local Government New Zealand President Dave Cull relating to public statements he made about the accuracy of the Taxpayers’ Union’s local government league tables, ‘Ratepayers Report’, and honesty of the organisation.While we make no apology for our research being hard hitting and won’t...
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Should Bob Simcock resign?
Today's Waikato Times covers our call for Waikato DHB Chair, Bob Simcock, to follow his disgraced Cheif Executive, Nigel Murray, and resign for the lack of oversight and expense scandal, we've been bombarded with feedback from our members and supports in the Waikato region on the issue.We've been looking...
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How much will this election cost you?
We've had a great response to our full-page newspaper ads which ran across the country yesterday.The figures are based on our election policy costing "Bribe-O-Meter" which is based on the parties’ own estimated costs of their policies and they have been tracked and verified by our own independent economists....
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Barrie Saunders appointed to Taxpayers' Union Board
Well known former Wellington lobbyist and former journalist, Barrie Saunders, has been appointed to the board of the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.Barrie retired from the government relations consultancy, Saunders Unsworth, in March 2015, after 25 years as a government relations consultant. The company specialises in the management of public policy...
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Bribe-O-Meter Update: Adding Up the Cost of Potential Government Coalitions
In the final Bribe-O-Meter update before the election, the Taxpayers’ Union has put together the combined manifesto costings for a range of potential coalitions. These figures will allow voters to gain a better understanding of the fiscal implications of a potential Government over the next three-year parliamentary term. This week we have put together...
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Bribe-O-Meter running red hot (Week 9)
Another week of expensive election promises typifies the penultimate weekly Bribe-O-Meter update. The Green Party and TOP are this week’s big movers, each with over $3 billion in new spending announced in the past seven days. Other movers include New Zealand First (a further $1.5 billion) and the National Party...
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Bribe-O-Meter Update: ACT this weeks biggest spender
For the first time ever, the ACT Party is the biggest spender in this week's update of the election Bribe-O-Meter. ACT’s big jump is on the back of its education policy, costing $3 billion over the next parliamentary term. This week the Bribe-O-Meter also sees Labour and the Green Party jump by more...
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Briefing paper: Robin Hood Reversed
Following on from Jacinda Ardern's announcement today of Labour's tertiary education policy offering 'free' university study for up to three years, we have released a briefing paper examining whether "zero fees" university really is what the left say it's cracked up to be.We find that the implementation of...
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Bribe-O-Meter Update: Labour Attempting to Buy the Big Cities
Big spending packages targeted at New Zealand’s major cities account for the majority of the increases in the latest update of the Bribe-O-Meter. Labour has been the most ambitious with expensive new packages targeted at each of the major cities, with other smaller promises from National and the Green...
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Bribe-O-Meter Update (Week 6)
National Party Doubles New Spending Promises In Just Seven DaysNational spends-up large...The National Party has more than doubled its new election spending in the space of just one week. Since last Monday, the National Party has increased promised spending from $2.5 to $6.8 billion across the next parliamentary...
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2017 Ratepayers' Report published
This morning, in partnership with our sister group, the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, we published the 2017 "Ratepayers' Report" - our local government interactive league tables. The tool allows ratepayers to see how their local council performs on metrics including average rates, staff numbers, liabilities per resident, and even CEO salary.Ratepayers'...
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Mr Taxman (still) not picking up the phone
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders still can't get through to the IRD, according to new figures which show only a slight improvement in the numbers of callers being rejected by IRD due to under-staffing. In the space of a month, almost 170,000 callers have not even made...
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Bribe-O-Meter update (week 3)
Bribe-O-Meter week 3: All minor parties added, NZ First spending in excess of $22.5bIn this weeks update, all parties currently in Parliament have been added to the Taxpayers’ Union Bribe-O-Meter, which tracks the costs of election policies as they are announced.To date, NZ First has the most expensive set of policies,...
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Rotorua Lakes Council accepts Supreme Achievement Award for importing mud from South Korea
The Taxpayers’ Union mascot, "Porky the Waste-hater", visited Rotorua this morning, and awarded the Rotorua Mayor a “Supreme Achievement Award” for imagination and achievement in wasting public money, following the Mayor’s decision to spend $90,000 of public money to import five tonnes of mud from South Korea. The mud is...
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2017 Election Bribe-O-Meter Launched
The Taxpayers’ Union is repeating its popular election costing tool with the launch of the 2017 General Election Bribe-O-Meter to keep track of the cost of party manifestos in the lead up to polling day.The Bribe-O-Meter provides transparency on what the promises made by political parties will cost and it holds to account politicians...
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NZ’s biggest companies received over $7 million of taxpayer money for power bills
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that over $7 million of taxpayer money has been spent on the power bills of 94 of New Zealand’s largest companies since July 2014. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority’s (EECA) ‘large energy users programme’ provides funding to businesses, in an attempt to encourage...
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Mr Taxman not picking up the phone
Up to 55% of calls from taxpayers are being rejected by the IRD because it does not have enough staff rostered on to answer the phones, according to data supplied to the Taxpayers' Union covering a 2-week period in May this year.At tax time, the least the Government...
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Green’s Utopia: The fastest way to achieving equality is to make everybody poorer
The Green Party’s attempt to increase the welfare state in their policy launched over the weekend, is not only an unnecessary burden on taxpayers but also founded on a misunderstanding of the economic realities facing New Zealand.Firstly, the Green's claim that inequality has been increasing in New Zealand....
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HRC 'anti-racist' campaign funded by levy based on race
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal the Human Rights Commission’s recent “Give Nothing To Racism” anti-discrimination campaign has been funded by discriminatory levies payable only by international students and new migrants.The Human Rights Commission campaign featuring advertisements of Neil Finn and Taika Waititi was funded from the Export Education...
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Don't claw the cats
The Dunedin Mayor’s pitch to local councils in his campaign to be elected the new president of Local Government New Zealand is nuts. Despite the vast majority of ratepayers considering the move silly, Dave Cull wants to use ratepayers’ money to lobby the government to force cat owners to register their...
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Cost of Winston Peters’ ‘Carpet Policy’ $120 million
NZ First has announced its ‘carpet policy’ - to line all Government offices with wool carpets.NZ First are calling for wool carpets to be put back on the floors of government departments and state houses.Party leader Winston Peters believes the move would revitalise New Zealand's declining wool industry...
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Sugar Tax Response
In my opinion piece in Wednesday's New Zealand Herald, I laid out a list of reasons why a sugar tax on soft drinks would be a bad piece of public policy and would do little, if anything, to reduce obesity rates.In brief, I pointed to the failure in other...
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Socialism for the Rich
Today we have released our latest report, ‘Socialism for the Rich’, by Jim Rose. The report shows that the annual cost of corporate welfare is now $1.6 billion - or $931 per New Zealand household.‘Socialism for the Rich’ collates the costs of all the corporate welfare expenditure in Budget 2017....
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Chatham Islands treaty settlement travel costs skyrocket
The efficiency of the Office of Treaty Settlements' travel arrangements needs examination, after just nine officials racked up a $57k travel bill to the Chatham Islands alone, in only 18 months. Serious questions need to be asked about why the Office have not elected to use other means to remain connected with...
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Revealed: MFAT giving taxpayer money to North Korea
Further to our earlier exposés of aid money being wasted on countries spending it on space programmes and the millions going to subsidiaries of the Clinton Foundation, we can now reveal that under the current Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade has given $215,000 to North Korean aid projects, despite...
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Labour Party, Phil Goff deserting the poor in support of motorway tolls.
Phil Goff and the Labour Party need to re-examine their support for motorway tolls if they want to remain champions of low income workers, say the Taxpayers’ Union. It is pointing out that motorway tolls would disproportionately affect low income workers in Auckland’s outer suburbs.Jordan Williams, Executive Director...
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Op-ed: I'm a neoliberal. Maybe you are too
This piece first appeared in the National Business Review on 19 May 2017I’m a neoliberal. Maybe you are too Opinion piece by Jordan Williams‘Neoliberal’ is a fashionable term, but is often poorly defined and misunderstood. Radio New Zealand could barely contain itself last month when former-Prime Minister Jim Bolger...
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Op Ed: John Bishop on Budget 2017
Joyce’s budget soothes path to re-electionIn a climate of strong economic growth and continuing surpluses in the government’s account, Steven Joyce has opened his wallet wide and gone on a spending binge. This is an election year budget in which every itch in the electorate has been soothed...
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John Bishop overview on Budget 2017
Budget 2017 overview - a taxpayer perspectiveBudgets are essentially political documents, and especially in an election year. It’s the government of the day’s bid to win the election.And in 2017 Steven Joyce is embarking on the biggest election year spend up since Roman politicians in the dying days...
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Media Release: Changes in tax thresholds sell us short
Changes to tax thresholds don’t compensate for changes in average earnings growth for the average earner with an income of $57,000 based on previous reports on fiscal drag by the Taxpayers’ Union. “The effect is that the average worker is paying a higher average tax rate now than in...
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Media Release: Bill English bets on a modest carrot, big spending, to win an election
‘Vote for National and get a tax cut next year’ is the message from Budget 2017, says Jordan Williams, Executive Director of the Taxpayers’ Union. “But middle and high-income earners will be burdened with a higher proportion of the costs of government.” “The person on the average wage has...
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Media Release: Very little for business sector in Budget 2017
With the exception of corporate welfare (which taxes all businesses more, to divert grants to favoured businesses and industries) the business-friendly initiative which features in the Budget announcements is a single proposal to allow deductibility of capital investment 'viability expenditure'. The Government has announced $372.8 million of new operating funding...
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Budget 2017 - pre-budget analysis
Budget 2017: Guide to Possible Tax ChangesSteven Joyce has intimated that this Budget will provide tax relief to New Zealanders through an adjustment in tax thresholds. As we go into the Budget lock up, the Taxpayers Union’ have put together some benchmark figures as a guide to judging the size of...
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Response to PSA – “Ten Perspectives on Tax”
The Public Services Association (PSA) have released a new booklet, “Ten Perspectives on Tax” that intends to fight back against growing public demand for tax cuts. It did not take long – the first page of the first chapter to be precise - before I had to stop...
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Happy Tax Freedom Day
According to the OECD figures, this year tax freedom day is Monday 22 May, representing the 39.1% of the economy that is spent by the government.Today, Monday 22 May, is "Tax Freedom Day" - the first day this year that New Zealanders stop working for the Government and...
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Op-ed: There is nothing scarier than a government in surplus
There is nothing scarier than a government in surplusPre-budget opinion piece published in the Waikato Times, 18 May 2017The series of new spending initiatives over the last few weeks are looking more and more like pork barrel election year bribes and suggest that the healthy government books are...
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Stats NZ pay for astronomical lease
Statistics New Zealand’s new lease with Wellington’s Chow Brothers for offices at 318 Lambton Quay signs up taxpayers for $794 per square metre per year — an astronomical amount for office space. As reported by this morning's Dominion Post, documents (see link below) show that the Ministry is paying...
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Costs of Fire Service about to skyrocket
Fire Service Amalgamation Means 40% Increase In Fire Insurance LevyNew Zealanders will have to pay an extra 40% in their insurance fire levy from July despite the key selling point of the Government’s amalgamation of fire services being ‘efficiency’ - according to a new report we've published today.The...
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OECD Report on income tax
A report released last week by the OECD (a group of mostly rich countries), ‘Taxing Wages’, compares the effective tax rates within the OECD club. According to the report, the average earner with no children in New Zealand has the second-lowest effective tax rate in the OECD at...
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Havelock North water inquiry getting costly
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the the Hastings District Council has almost spent $1 million of ratepayer money on legal and investigation fees in relation to the Havelock North drinking water inquiry. The official figures were obtained by the Taxpayers’ Union under the Local Government Official Information and...
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New report: 5 Options for Tax Relief in 2017
The Government’s failure to index tax brackets to inflation since 2010 now costs the average Kiwi income earner almost $500 each year according to a new report released today by the Taxpayers’ Union. The report, "5 Options for Tax Relief in 2017", models five options to deliver meaningful tax...
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Living Wage policies: The best of intentions but the worst of results
Seventeen parking wardens contracted by Wellington City Council were not rehired in-house, with further job losses inevitable under the Council’s living wage policy, according to a new report we've released today authored by our Research Fellow Jim Rose.The report's key findings are:Seventeen Wellington City Council employees lost their...
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Yule set to cost ratepayers $100k if elected to Parliament
Taxpayers are on the hook for between $90,000 and $100,000 in by-election costs in the case of Lawrence Yule being selected as the National Party's Tuki Tuki candidate and subsequently elected in this year's general election. This figure was revealed after we asked the council for its calculation of...
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Lack of oversight by Greater Wellington Regional Council 'scary'
A Greater Wellington Regional Council guarantee to cover $150 million of debt in the event of default by CentrePort has raised serious concerns as the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union reveals correspondence that shows the Council has received no documentation whatsoever about CentrePort's insurance cover, or any information about the impairment...
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Would you give your own money to the Clinton Foundation?
Following on from our blowing the whistle on the Government earmarking another $5.5 million of NZ Aid money to be given to the Clinton Foundation over the next few years, we’re sorry to report that the Government is refusing to veto the extra spend.Last week it was reported that the...
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Council-owned art: half a billion collecting dust
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that local councils across New Zealand have accrued more than half a billion dollars of artwork – at least $560 million – with 93% of the collections collecting dust or otherwise not on public display.A Taxpayers’ Union briefing paper on research looking at the...
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The most perplexing leaving gift ever?
As regular readers will know, the Taxpayers' Union operate a tip-line for insiders and members of the public to report government waste. In December we received a tip off that former Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown asked officials for a ratepayer-funded tattoo as her departure gift as Mayor of...
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Australian Government pulls plug on Clinton Foundation funding
With news that the Clinton Foundation is laying off 22 staffers due to the discontinuation of the Clinton Global Initiative, we have revealed that the Australian Government is cutting all financial ties with the Clinton Global Health Initiative.In 2014 Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced that the Australian Government had committed...
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Government set to give Clinton Foundation another $5.5 million
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Government has budgeted to give another $5.5 million dollars of taxpayers’ money to the controversial Clinton Foundation, despite Mrs Clinton’s failed US Presidential bid and controversy over improper ties between the Clinton Foundation, the State Department and donations from foreign governments to the...
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How we are fighting the war on government waste and making the case for tax cuts in 2017
Three years fighting for taxpayersThe Taxpayers’ Union has today released its annual review, covering the last 12 months of operations.Click here to view in full-screen mode (opens a new window)The document concludes what has been a busy, and effective, year for the Union. Our combined effort exposed, fought, and defeated the awful 'Taniwha Tax’...
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Trans-Tasman report calls for life-saving reforms to help smokers quit
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union, Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance and MyChoice Australia have jointly launched a report calling for the governments on both sides of the Tasman to legalise, and lightly regulate new technologies to help smokers quit. The report, E-cigarettes: Reducing the Harm of Smoking, builds on the report we released...
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Absolutely, positively wasteful: Wellington City Council shindig costs $51K (with video)
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that a Wellington City Council party, just weeks prior to the local body elections, to celebrate the signing of its new “sister city” agreement with Canberra, cost Wellington City ratepayers more than $51,000. The total cost included $14,850 spent on fashion models, ballet...
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Time for an official child poverty measure
This morning the Taxpayers’ Union is called on political parties to come together and agree on an official measure and national target to cut childhood poverty. Irrespective of whether you think the Government is already spending enough on measures to relieve child poverty, we should have an agreed yardstick to hold politicians...
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Comprehensive victory in Unitary Plan "Taniwha Tax" campaign
The Taniwha Tax is dead!Today with our sister group the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance, we are celebrating a comprehensive victory in our “Taniwha Tax” campaign, with the Independent Hearings Panel recommending that Cultural Impact Assessment requirements, and the scheduled “sites of value” be deleted from the Unitary Plan.In April...
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Demagoguery Has Hijacked Labour's Once-Stellar Housing Plan
Originally published in the NBR, 15 July 2016.New Zealand's soaring house prices are a symptom of a deeper problem, and one man has had the wisdom and courage to hit the nail on the head. That man is Labour MP Phil Twyford of Te Atatu, but his sound...
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Aid money wasted on countries spending it on space programmes
The Taxpayers’ Union is questioning why NZ Aid money, meant to help the world’s poorest, is being used to support countries and governments with their own space programs. The figures (see below) show that since 2010 more than $214 million of taxpayer money has been given to countries rich...
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Time to examine the merits of term limits?
Could term limits for local councillors may be a way to bring fresh thinking into local government?This morning's DominionPost covers our research to identify New Zealand’s longest-serving local-body politicians.New Zealand's longest-serving councillor is on track to notch up half a century in public office – provided voters give him the...
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Taxpayers’ Union Victory: DOC extinguishes wasteful staff junkets to Australia
In mid-2014, the Taxpayers’ Union blew the whistle on the Department of Conservation for spending over $100,000 to send 47 staff overseas to learn about controlled burning of bush – a fire fighting technique that is not even used in New Zealand.We had obtained under the Official Information...
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Questions over covert taxpayer funding of Labour's Wellington mayoral campaign
The Taxpayers’ Union has been leaked an email from a senior Labour Party insider which appears to reveal that the Labour Party have used taxpayer money to produce a promotional video of Wellington’s controversial Deputy Mayor, and mayoral candidate, Justin Lester.The email suggests that Labour’s Whip's Office, which...
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Op-Ed: Transport policy: Greens' new freight policy does not add up
Originally published by the National Business Review, Friday 27 May, 2016The Green Party wants to double to 50% the share of freight to be transported by rail and sea by 2027. That means moving about one-quarter of total domestic freight off 90,000km of roads on to 3800km of rail...
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Op-Ed: Tax debate should have room for honest disagreement
Originally published by the National Business Review on Friday, 10 June 2016Too much of tax policy is debated with pistols drawn at 10 paces. Each side accuses the other of ignorance or being steeped in moral turpitude, and preferably often both.Far too much time is spent feuding over the...
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Taxpayers forking out $683k per year for bureaucrats to watch SKY
Central and local government agencies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money every year on subscription TV services.The data for the last financial year shows some agencies such as KiwiRail and Auckland Council spending close to $50,000 each on TV subscriptions. The total for the agencies surveyed...
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Op-Ed: Median earners forgotten in scramble for bigger government
Originally published by the National Business Review on Thursday, 26 May 2016The one thing we knew wouldn’t be in the Budget this week was tax cuts. The Government has said not today, probably not next year but maybe at some stage before 2020.While National has done a good job...
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Op-ed: National has a moral duty to cut taxes
Originally published by the National Business Review, Monday 23 May, 2016Centre-right political parties have a moral duty to lower taxes and allow people to take home more of their own money.The National Party’s values – limited government; individual freedom and choice; competitive enterprise and reward for achievement –...
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Budget 2016 - our first impressions
No tax cuts announced, no surprise there. No tax cuts flagged for the future, very disappointing. No roll back of fiscal drag, or bracket creep, for people paying more tax simply because their pay has increased with inflation — unfair and deserving more attention than the brush off...
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Tax Freedom Day 2016
This year Budget Day falls on "Tax Freedom Day" - the first day that New Zealanders stop working for the Government and begin working for themselves.According to OECD figures general government total outlays now equal 40.0% of the New Zealand economy. That means, for the average Kiwi, when the clock...
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Op-Ed: Panama Papers don’t reveal what the opposition claimed – at least so far
Originally published by the National Business Review, Monday Monday May 9, 2016Today was meant to be the day we learned what the Prime Minister was hiding in relation to the release of stolen client files from Mossack Fonseca, a law firm, which have been labelled the “Panama Papers.” Here at...
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Labour's policy to abolish Auckland urban boundary
The Labour Party's Housing spokesperson, Phil Twyford, has called on the Government to abolish Auckland's urban growth boundary to allow the city to expand. We wholeheartedly agree with any measures to reduce the regulatory taxes which are choking supply, so are backing Labour's proposal.Like tax cuts always being delayed,...
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New report: Money for all - considering a Universal Basic Income
A Universal Basic Income which avoided superannuitants and beneficiaries being made worse off would require a flat rate income tax of more than 50% or drastic cuts in Government services to pay for it, according to a new report we're releasing today.The report, Money for all: the winners and losers...
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One tax law for all? Apparently not
The other week it was announced that Tainui and Ngai Tahu-owned Go Bus had picked up four South Auckland public transport contracts. Initial media reports suggested that this was not a sign of the best man (or company) winning, but rather the result of a quirk in New...
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When politics is life and death
On Monday I teamed up on Newstalk ZB with left wing commentator Josie Pagani to talk about the 11,000-strong petition calling on the Government to fund the new melanoma drug, Keytruda, and the support the campaign has received from opposition politicians, particularly Labour Party leader Andrew Little.The personal stories of people desperate...
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MBIE's bad numbers lead to bad policy
We're calling for an apology from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment after bad numbers provided to the Government caused them to approve mandatory insulation requirements for rental properties thinking that the requirements would result in $640 million of economic gains, when in reality they will result...
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Revealed: Speaker's warning to Labour over Parliamentary funds
We are blowing the whistle on the apparent misuse of taxpayer-funded Parliamentary resources by the Labour Party.Some weeks ago Labour sent an email in the name of Paul Chalmers, the Project Manager at Labour House, to Labour's Auckland supporters detailing how Andrew Little had opened a Auckland office...
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Auckland motorists already paying plenty
We are hitting out at renewed calls to introduce a new motorway or congestion tax for Auckland and calling on the National Party to stand by its election promise and rule out new taxes.The proposal would require the National-led Government passing legislation to allow Auckland Council to tax...
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LINZ charging excessive fees
Today we revealed that Land Information New Zealand has overcharged New Zealanders by $40 million for its "Landonline" service, despite the requirement that it is to function on a cost-recovery basis.Data from LINZ shows the account as having a forecast surplus of $40.284 million at 1 July 2016.Landonline is the...
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Upper Hutt Mayor responds to criticism
Over the weekend we revealed more Upper City Council corporate welfare 'economic development' grants amounting to $375,000 of ratepayers’ money. Joining Burger Fuel, grant recipients include Subway, Vogue (a clothing store), Bed Bath and Beyond, and even a hairdresser!Stuff.co.nz covered our comments here:"It is economic trickery benefiting only the...
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Corporate welfare for hairdressers?
Back in June we slammed Upper Hutt City Council for giving a $32,000 Business Development Support grant to listed fast-food retailer BurgerFuel to set up a shop in the City. Now we can reveal that Subway, a hairdresser, a cinema and even a Bed Bath and Beyond also received ratepayer-funded grants.So far in...
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Government Ministers too posh to fly Jetstar?
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that Ministers are not practicing what they preach in their apparent support for more competition in New Zealand’s skies. In August, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Transport Minister Simon Bridges welcomed Jetstar’s expansion into the regions. But despite the apparent support, it appears than not...
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Mexican sales falsehood continues to be repeated by anti-sugar lobby
This weekend TV3’s The Nation looked at excise taxes and specifically whether the sorts of taxes we impose on alcohol and tobacco should be extended to sugar, fats, or junk food.Professor Nick Wilson from Otago University is quoted in support of imposing a sugar tax (among others) and...
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Jim Rose: The low skilled won't be hired for living wage jobs
The Taxpayers' Union and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce are mulling legal action against the Wellington City Council's decision to restrict it choice of security contractors to those paying a 'living wage'. We've told the the National Business Review that if the Chamber don't, we will almost certainly...
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Chairman's Address and Report to the 2015 AGM
When we launched the NZTU back in November 2013, I remarked, echoing Churchill, that this was not the beginning of the end, or even the end of the beginning.It was in fact the beginning of the beginning. Now two years ago, we can see how far we have...
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WCC legal challenge
The Taxpayers’ Union is currently considering legal action against Wellington City Council following the council voting to extend the so-called living wage to private contractors.Like others, our initial legal advice is that the Council is highly likely in breach of the Local Government Act which requires Council to...
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$80,000 taxpayers dollars for meaningless waffle
The Government is giving $80,000 (labeled a "Community Development Scheme" grant) to the Methodist Mission for the following:The key outcome for the project is the development of a greater sense of community within the inner city. The project’s goal is to harness this energy to empower residents and the broader...
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Taxing the ill
DHBs charging millions for patients to parkOur new briefing paper on public hospital parking charges reveals that District Health Boards are raking in nearly $15 million per year in parking charges at New Zealand’s public hospitals.The information has been compiled from Official Information Act requests shows that more than $44...
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Guest post: GST on online purchases
Greg Harford, the General Manager of Public Affairs at Retail New Zealand has drafted the following on proposals to reduce the threshold for GST for imported goods purchased online.Many people agree that tax is a necessary evil that we need to provide core Government services. Many people also think that, if...
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First sugar taxes, now meat, dairy, and even bread
Within hours of our release of our latest report paper examining why sugar and other food taxes don't work, Auckland University has published a report calling for new food taxes which looks to be the most ridiculous yet.Auckland University academics are calling for a 20% flat rate tax on bread; breakfast...
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MBIE revoke offer to meet
The head of the government department that spent $140,474 on a TV screen, $67,339 on a sign and $5,480 on an arts consultant for its new Wellington offices, has retracted an offer made to the Taxpayers’ Union to meet about the Ministry’s spending.After we expressed public concerns last week about...
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Porky presents waste award to MBIE officials
Porky, the Taxpayers’ Union government waste mascot, this morning visited the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to award a Government Waste Certificate of Achievement to David Smol, the Ministry's Chief Executive, for the Ministry’s extraordinary lavish office fit out.After some waiting, Mr Smol failed to front, but an MBIE official...
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New report: Corporate welfare in the 2015 budget
Corporate welfare in Budget 2015 will cost the average New Zealand household more than $750.Any new kids at the trough? a report by Jim Rose launched today, collates all of the corporate welfare in Budget 2015. The report updates our previous report, Monopoly Money: the cost of corporate welfare since 2008.The new...
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Saudi Sheep deal: Complaint to Auditor General
Last week the Taxpayers’ Union called on Foreign Affairs Minister, Murray McCully, to publicly release the legal advice relating to the Saudi sheep deal. Our own legal advice is that a genuine claim is highly unlikely. Now that the dispute has been settled, there can be no prejudice to the...
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Tax Freedom Day 2015
Today marks the first working day New Zealanders stop working for the Government and take home what they earn. According to figures from the OECD, New Zealand’s total government outlays as a percentage of GDP is 41.4% this year, with Kiwis marking ‘Tax Freedom Day’ on Queens Birthday...
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Why abolishing the KiwiSaver $1,000 kick starter makes sense
On One News, they found someone to complain that they won’t be getting a free $1,000 KiwiSaver contribution from the taxpayer. She claimed that the contribution “kind of feels stolen” from her.Her name is Alexa Rae Johnson. The same one who only moved to NZ this month to start a job here. Has been...
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How to avoid ACC over-payment
ACC fees are being cut - so why is the NZTA trying to charge motorists more?Earlier this month ACC Minister, Nikki Kaye, announced cuts to the levies that motorists have to pay. The new fee regime will come into force from 1 July 2015. Unfortunately for taxpayers, it...
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Stop the Travel Tax
In Budget 2015, Bill English has delivered a new tax on hard working New Zealanders - a tax on travel.Bill English's Travel Tax will clip the wings of Kiwi families - making it about $80 more expensive for a family of four to get the the Gold Coast.With...
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National deliver high tax, high spend Budget
Your humble taxpayer advocates have just been released from today’s Budget 2015 lock-up. We wish we had better newsFrom a taxpayer perspective, Budget 2015 is Bill English’s worst. We have awarded it a two out of ten, and “National’s Labour-Green high tax, high spend Budget”.Instead of controlling spending, cutting...
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The $26m flag referendum
During the 2014 election, part of National's campaign platform was to hold a referendum on the New Zealand flag.With the design process now underway, public opinion is divided over whether the $26m cost of the referendum is value for money.While some of the proposed designs have been taken...
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IRD exercise video
The IRD has spent more than $418,000 of taxpayer money on a campaign featuring a YouTube video of 80’s style aerobic exercises to promote filing of tax returns. You paid for it, so you might as well enjoy it:It is essential that the public are well informed on how...
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