Monday, January 04, 2010

Taxing questions

The Tax Working Group has handed in their homework to the cabinet. The public have to wait a few more weeks before seeing their workings, but there's selective leaking from people within such as NZX's Mark Weldon:
Investment property should be the target, such as dumping loss attributing qualifying companies (LAQCs) which allowed some wealthy people – including some on the Government's own Tax Working Group – to pay no tax at all, Weldon said. Weldon is a member of the Tax Working Group.
I'm curious. I wonder how much tax each member of the Tax Working Group paid under their own names last year. Of course, it's none of my business and it's an OIA too far for this arm's length review. Still, even a collective figure would prove illuminating.

Meantime, at interest.co.nz, Bernard Hickey uncovers how much blood is being sucked out of the country by commercial interests. He asks some good 'uns:
It raises questions about why foreign owned businesses are so much more profitable and whether they pay a fair share of corporate taxes.

Way I see it, with schemey scams such as Paula Bennett subsidising McJobs, they could do with a bit more stick and a lot less carrot. Just how much tax does Vodafone, McDonalds, Starbucks, etc pay to the government? Are we just socialising their expenses like gratuitous tax loopholes for large budget films?