|
📌 View
Online | 🚀 Share
on Facebook
Hi Friend,
A lot
to cover this week, so bear with me.
This week,
we're celebrating a major Taxpayer Victory, an unexpected Taxpayer
Hero, and a young chap who gives us all hope for the
future.
But first,
a bouquet...
Credit where credit is due: a 'tax cut' (of
sorts) on groceries 👍
Here at the
Taxpayers' Union, we've been more than a little critical lately of
Finance Minister Nicola Willis. 👀
Sure,
she's increased spending since the Government got into office
(despite promising to get Grant Robertson's 'addiction' to spending
under control); increased the size of the deficit and daily
government borrowing, and even increased the total number
of bureaucrats since the last election (it initially dipped a bit, but
the latest Public Service Commission figures speak for
themselves).
So this
week's announcement from Nicola Willis of a so-called "express lane"
for new supermarkets would have been easy to dismiss.
But, we've
been taking a look into the details, and credit where credit is due.
The changes target the key reason we lack much international
competition in the grocery sector: principally the Resource Management
Act – which operates as a 'regulatory tax' keeping out
competition.
Back in
May, our friends at the New Zealand Initiative, a Wellington-based
economic think tank, published a research note on how to open New
Zealand’s markets to more competition, which included specific
drafting instructions on a Bill to fix many of the regulatory hurdles
that make New Zealand an unattractive place to start a new grocery
chain.
Often,
especially once in Government, politicians turn a blind eye to new or
bold ideas. This works for the bureaucracy too - who dislike groups
like the NZ Initiative (or the Taxpayers' Union!) having the ear of
their Ministers.
Clearly,
Minister Willis has been willing to go around her officials and talk
to experts outside the intellectual contracts of the public sector to
adopt new ideas and policies.
So well
done to Minister Willis, and the NZ Initiative – we like what we
see!
You
can read more about the Government's announcement over on the Beehive
website, and a
summary of the NZ Initiative's policy work here.
TAXPAYER VICTORY: Nosey Parker IRD information
gathering powers scrapped 🎊
We
celebrated a MAJOR Taxpayer Victory this week with the announcement
that Section 17GB – otherwise known as the Nosey Parker clause – of
the delightfully-named Tax Administration Act 1994 is on the chopping
block.
Back in 2022, David Parker introduced what
amounts to a 'snoopers’ charter' for IRD, which was rushed through
Parliament.
Historically, IRD could only demand information
relevant to determining your tax liability. But that wasn't enough for
David Parker, who, in an outrageous affront to the rights of
taxpayers, gave IRD powers to literally demand (with the threat of
jail time) any information IRD officials wanted.
And it was
even worse. The Minister could (and for the purposes of a particular
political project did) instruct officials to conduct 'research' and
use those powers however the Minister liked.
Well, it took three years, but this
week we can finally claim victory!
🎉
Revenue
Minister Simon Watts has included in this year's annual tax
adjustments bill an amendment to scrap the Nosey Parker clause. First
rates capping, now this. Bravo Mr Watts!
Speaking of rates capping...
Caught
on camera: Grey District Councillors literally laugh at
those struggling with high rates
bills 🎥
It might
surprise many, but we can't watch every council meeting every day
around the country. So when we saw this headline from 1News, it's fair
to say Jordan spat out his coffee.
At a
meeting earlier this week, Councillor Timothy Mora asked aloud if
there’d been any pushback regarding the Council's proposed 13.7
percent rate increases. The answer was yes.
And that's
when Grey District Council rather let themselves down.
How did
they react, Friend? With concern over the increased cost of living? With
compassion for the families struggling to make ends meet? No. They
laughed.
Weirdly,
1News reported on the laughter, but didn't actually publish the
recording (weird, right?).
Again, your
humble Taxpayers' Union is here to help 🙃.
We've dug
out the actual recording, and published it for all to see. Judge
for yourself here.
As you can
see, the Mayor has apologised. But apologies are cheap. If any of
these councillors really are contrite, they ought to be committing to
stopping the rates raids on their local community. And thanks to your
humble Taxpayers' Union, they can: by signing the Ratepayer
Protection Pledge.
Ratepayer Protection Pledge: Your 2025 Ratepayer
Voting Guide
🗳️🛡️
This week, we launched
the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, drawing a line in the sand
between those mayoral and council candidates committed to standing
with ratepayers and those who are not.
Every
candidate standing for mayor or council has been asked for their
commitment to ratepayers on three vital issues:
- Oppose any measures that will see the
total burden of rates, levies and additional council
charges exceed the level of inflation and population
growth,
- Support
initiatives that will improve transparency of council
expenditure, including the public disclosure of all
expenditure items (known as 'armchair audit' and 'open
data')
- Oppose unelected appointments onto
council committees with spending and regulatory powers.
Friend,
councils are only as good as the people we elect to sit on them. And
we’ve seen more than enough evidence to show councils are in bad shape
(looking at you, Grey District Council).
Every
candidate who signs the pledge will be published online, so voters can
make an informed decision on who stands for what.
Right
now, the whole team are working the phones and contacting candidates
asking them to sign the pledge. Once we know who is with us (and who
isn't) we'll be getting to work to make clear to ratepayers who is –
and isn't – on our side.
NEW POLL:
All ages, regions and parties support capping council
rates 🧢
With
behaviour like Grey District Council’s, is it any wonder why Kiwis
back a rates cap law by 3:1?
We
published our latest poll results this week, showing a majority of Kiwis – no
matter the age, region or party split – backing an introduction of a
law to cap council rates.
We knew it
was popular. You told us you wanted it. And you were bang
on.
When you’ve got a policy that
unites Labour and ACT, National and Te Pati Māori? You know it’s a
good one.
Read
the full results and James’ commentary here.
Auckland Transport gets schooled by a 20-year-old
law student 🏛️
Have you
ever felt extraordinarily old, Friend, when someone younger than you
does something most of us will never achieve? I did this week,
when 20-year-old Auckland University law student Sean O'Loughlin took
a case to the High Court at Auckland against Auckland Transport – and
won.
He tripped
AT up at their own game – layers and layers of paperwork – after
discovering that AT did not consider whether a raised pedestrian
crossing and three speed bumps on The Parade in Bucklands Beach would
unduly impede vehicular traffic.
Of
course, they never admit it, but that's usually Auckland Transport's
intention: to impede getting placed in a car...
AT were
found to have not fulfilled their legal duty drivers and therefore the
decision was unlawful. Given they spent a whopping $667,000 on installing the
things, you would have thought AT could have paid a bit more
attention. Maybe they were distracted by spending more
than $147,000 on social media influencers?
Either way,
it's yet another reminder that AT needs to be stripped back to basics
and focus on providing decent service to all Aucklanders,
including the ones in cars.
Huge, huge
congrats to this Taxpayer Hero. You're a legend, Sean.
Taxpayer Talk: Infrastructure NZ CEO Nick Leggett
on building infrastructure, costs, and local government
🎙
Building
anything in New Zealand has no shortage of challenges. Whether it be
soaring costs, reels of red tape, or problems with supplying labour,
our choked infrastructure pipeline deeply affects this country's
economy and quality of life.
CEO for
Infrastructure New Zealand, Nick Leggett, joins Peter Williams for a
deep dive into how we can overcome these challenges so we can build
faster, more efficiently, and more affordably.
Listen
here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Phew. I warned you it was a long one!
Have
a great weekend.
|
