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After two years debate on water reform and countless promises of more efficiency and transparency, today’s news that the Government is refusing to disclose the salaries of the recently appointed entity CEOs is a slap in the face of the hundreds of thousands of New Zealand ratepayers who objected to the reforms. The NZ Herald has confirmed, however, “that the salaries sit within a range of $602,500 to $815,500 per year, which suggests a very tidy pay rise for at least three of the four executives in question.
Responding to the report, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:
“The Government’s Three Waters reforms are failing its own litmus test – reducing costs and delivering services more efficiently. There is no efficiency or transparency in Government officials trying to keep secret what they are spending on CEOs for organizations that don’t yet exist.
“This is precisely what the Taxpayers' Union warned about. By taking control away from local communities, faceless bureaucrats in their ivory tower head offices tend to snub transparency and accountability. This example is case in point.”
Reacting to news that former Toitū te Waiora CEO Donovan Clarke received a taxpayer-funded settlement valued at almost $500,000, Taxpayers' Union Investigations Manager Oliver Bryan said:
"The wasteful spending that has transpired at Toitū te Waiora is a bitter pill to swallow for the New Zealand taxpayers who are unwittingly bearing the brunt of this debacle. It is utterly unacceptable that over half a million dollars have been drained from public coffers to settle a single employment dispute and foot the bill for questionable personal expenses. This is not the kind of financial stewardship that taxpayers expect from those in charge of public entities.
"In the midst of immense pressure on our vocational sector, it's staggering that such gross mismanagement is allowed to occur within an entity that was established to bolster this very sector.
"The public trust is not a limitless resource, and each of these incidents erodes that trust further. It's high time for stringent measures to be implemented to prevent such costly blunders in the future. Taxpayers expect and deserve better."
Responding to today’s tax policy announcement from Te Pāti Māori, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:
“The proposals laid out by Te Pāti Māori come from a place of fundamental misunderstanding of economics and incentives.
“Removing GST off food will make our world-leading consumption tax system more complex, open to abuse and is poorly targeted. Instead of making it cheaper for just those who struggle to put on the table, this tax reduction applies to all individuals whether they are buying caviar and eye fillet steak or fruit and bread. The wealthy spend a higher dollar amount on food and would therefore be the greatest beneficiaries of the policy.
“Shifting the tax brackets to have even higher marginal tax rates for those earning above $60,000 will ruin incentives for people to earn more money as the payoff for doing so is diminished. Anyone looking at taking on extra hours, up-skilling, gunning for a promotion or creating a side-hustle will have to consider the fact they will lose a significant amount of that money in tax. Many people will decide this isn’t worth it and either not try to increase their incomes or will simply go overseas where they can keep more of their own money.
“The tax free threshold, when paid for by higher tax rates elsewhere will also have significant impacts on incentives to work and encourage people to manipulate their income to get in under the threshold. Secondary earners in a household will likely cut back their hours to below the tax free mark, family owned businesses will pay non-working family members up to $30,000 to ensure that as much money as possible is not taxed.
“Our recent report on the Green’s wealth tax by Taxpayers’ Union research fellow, Jim Rose, highlighted how a wealth tax would be unlikely to generate much revenue, would discourage innovation, saving and investment and would see more highly-skilled New Zealanders heading offshore. The report also highlighted how the impact wealth taxes have on successful Māori who decide to go out on their own rather than operating within treaty governance entities.
“Taxes on foreign companies will raise costs for many everyday goods and services that are not produced in New Zealand. These costs will make products more expensive for New Zealanders while also discouraging overseas companies from investing in New Zealand, creating jobs and paying tax.
“The land-banking tax and vacant-house tax are solutions for the wrong problem. The policy proposal correctly identifies regulatory issues preventing the development of Māori land but similar issues apply to all land. Cutting red tape that prevents building, developing and renting properties would be a more effective and enduring solution for the housing crisis. By making it easier to build, the increased supply in the market will flatten the growth in property prices and will make it no longer worthwhile to speculate. Instead, these proposals will make it even risker to invest in creating more housing with the threat of a 33% tax on the market-value of a property for anyone unable to fill a property within 6 months.
“If money-hungry politicians were able to end tax evasion and get more money by simply spending more they would have done it already. These proposals in their totality will simply flood New Zealand with a tsunami of tax loopholes. If reducing tax avoidance is the goal, our tax system needs to be made simpler and flatter so that it becomes impossible to avoid."
The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Minister for the Environment, David Parker, to pause the proposed Resource Management Act replacement bills until after the election to ensure that MPs have sufficient time to properly consider the changes they are voting on.
Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:
“Rushed lawmaking more often than not leads to bad lawmaking, especially with bills as large and complex as those presented by Minister Parker. The 931 pages of legislation, the 1377 pages of select committee reports and the 977 page Supplementary Order Paper mean it is near impossible for any MP to truthfully say they have fully read and considered all aspects of the proposals. It is a chaotic mess.
“Those people who will actually have to deal with this legislation such as councils, developers, farmers and renewable energy companies have had to participate in a rushed process of submissions and consultations so have been unable to provide comprehensive feedback and recommendations.
“Pausing these reforms until after the election will allow for more time to ensure the reforms are done well and are an improvement on the status quo. Otherwise New Zealanders will be stuck with less certainty and more complexity leading to higher development costs and worse outcomes for the environment."
The Taxpayers’ Union says that Chris Hipkins is leading the way, and for the first time in a generation is delivering a slimmed down, more efficient, Cabinet.
Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, says:
“Any expert in governance and meeting dynamics will tell you that any more than about 15 is detrimental to diversity of expressed views debate and good decision making.
“Back in the old days, under Prime Ministers Seddon and Ward, Cabinet was made up of eight to nine. Coates had 11, then Savage 14. Holland had 16, Holyoake (by his second administration) increased it to 17, Prime Ministers Marshall and Kirk had 18 Cabinet Ministers which continued under Prime Minister Muldoon until reaching 20 by the end of that Government.
“Of course in those days there were far more Parliamentary under-secretaries who are technically not in the Executive Branch, don’t attend Cabinet, and don’t get as many of the perks and staff as the Ministers outside of Cabinet that ‘hang on’ in the modern era.
“The Lange Ministry stuck with the 20, as have subsequent Prime Ministers - although the number of Ministers outside of Cabinet has vastly increased.
“Not since Prime Minister Kirk have we had such a streamlined Ministry, and Chris Hipkins deserves credit for not replacing Ministers Wood and Allan and being the first Prime Minister to arrest the growth.
“Christopher Luxon should seize the opportunity. If Hipkins can operate government with 18 Cabinet Ministers, Luxon should commit to doing the same. That would not only mean savings for taxpayers, but likely to lead to better collective decision making.”
The Taxpayers’ Union recognises former chair and board member, Casey Costello and thanks her for the significant contribution she has made as a volunteer. Over the weekend, Ms Costello was announced as a candidate for NZ First.
Taxpayers’ Union Chair, Laurie Kubiak, said:
“Casey has been a long-time financial supporter of the Union and was Chair just prior to when I joined the Board.”
“While we will miss Casey’s judgement and drive, we wish her the best of luck for the future.”
The Taxpayers’ Union is a non-partisan organisation and not affiliated to any party. As such, Ms Costello resigned from the Board on deciding to stand as a candidate in the upcoming election.
Commenting on the tax announcements in New Zealand First’s campaign launch, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:
“Record levels of inflation have not only eroded Kiwis’ incomes, but have forced many to hand over a higher share of their wages to the Government each year. We already adjust superannuation and welfare payments for inflation so it is about time that we did the same for working families through income tax bracket indexation.
“New Zealand First’s proposals for tax incentives are, however, concerning. When Government’s pick winners, they invariably get it wrong, costing the taxpayer for poor returns. Yes, we need to reduce our corporate tax levels to make New Zealand a more attractive place to do business and bring in more foreign direct investment, but it is not the Government’s place to play favourites.
“Removing GST on certain food products is a populist policy that does not stand up to scrutiny. It would almost certainly not be fully passed onto consumers, create more complexity for businesses when pricing, likely lead to expensive court battles over what is and is not exempt, and fail to target support to those who need it most. New Zealand’s clean and efficient GST system is something worth retaining.”
The Taxpayers’ Union is telling the National Party not to waste money on a ridiculous “Minister for Hunting and Fishing”, which will add little, but cost a lot. Jordan Williams, a Spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Union said:
“It’s all very well to have a hunting and fishing policy, but a Minister – complete with staff and bureaucracy – is laughable. We might as well have a ‘Minister for the Weekend’ or a ‘Minister of Video Gaming’.
“You don’t need a permanent Minister to pass laws about hunting access, and to not licence sea fishing.
“These are the sorts of ‘Minister you’ve never heard of’ jobs we thought Christopher Luxon was promising to axe. Or does he not intend to follow that through?
“Kiwis are struggling to pay for groceries and fill the car, and that’s where National’s focus should be. Instead, the Party is creating a Minister for those heading out on the boat.
“Included in the policy is yet more support for Fish and Game. Fish and Game have a role to play - but there is nothing in this policy that tackles the fact that Fish and Game have turned into taxpayer funded sock-puppet lobbyists against nearly all forms of farming and development - forcing fishing licence holders to fund campaigning many do not agree with. It’s a racket, a cozy deal, and shouldn’t be allowed to continue.’
“No one who actually hunts or fishes would have come up with this idea. The policy should be tossed back in favour of far more import issues facing New Zealanders.”
Commenting on the news that the Department of Conservation (DoC) has agreed to pay staff bonuses of up to $3,500 a year for Māori language skills, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:
“If a role at the Department of Conservation – or any other department for that matter – requires proficiency in te reo Māori, then of course fluent speakers should be hired. However, DoC freely admit that they have no such roles.
“Where it is not directly relevant to their job, public servants who want to learn te reo should, of course, be encouraged to do so, but in their own time. Like many, I attend te reo classes outside of working hours and for no bonus payment, why should it be any different for DoC staff?
“At a time when DoC is scrambling around trying to find ways to dig itself out of a multi-million dollar black hole, it is simply unjustifiable to be spending more of taxpayers’ hard-earned money on skills that are not practical requirements of the job.
“Refusing to answer basic questions on how much this policy will cost in the hopes of stalling through the weeks-long OIA process undermines transparent government. This ‘too-good-for-scrutiny’ attitude just goes to show how little respect many public servants have for the people that pay their salaries.”
Responding to news that the Government has pledged $15 million towards the restoration of the St James Theatre in Auckland, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:
“The Government’s offer to provide $15 million in funding towards restoring the St James Theatre - in addition to the $15 million already pledged by Auckland Council - is an incredibly brazen waste of taxpayer and ratepayers’ money.
“The tax burden on working families is spiralling out of control, and Auckland Council has just recently passed its largest ever rates rise. This is a time to be making hard financial choices about where to cut back spending, not committing vast sums of the public’s hard-earned money to local nice-to-haves.
“The owners of the theatre chose not to insure the building. Taxpayers should not be subsidizing the poor financial decisions of property investors.”
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