Giving a fig about Labour's tax policy options

Grant Robertson loyally explains how Chris Hipkins ditched his wealth tax plan. (Image: BusinessDesk)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023

Christopher Luxon must be feeling lucky today.If Chris Hipkins hadn’t bottled on Labour's wealth tax plan, the election would have been fought against a backdrop of every taxpayer getting a $20 a week tax cut from Sept 1 – six weeks out from the election – and a wealth tax affecting barely 1% of the population.That’s what the budget advice, released on Wednesday by finance minister Grant Robertson, shows the Labour cabinet was working on until some time in mid-March when Hipkins took fright.In the job for barely six...

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