Political suicide or circuit-breaker? Is Labour preparing a wealth tax reform package?

French economist and wealth-tax advocate Thomas Piketty. (Image: Getty)

Tue, 18 Apr 2023

Suddenly, everyone is talking tax again.It must be something in the air.The budget on May 18 perhaps? An election on Oct 14?As a result, sometime before the end of this month, it’s likely that the revenue minister, David Parker, will publish the results of the Inland Revenue Department’s (IRD) special project to examine how much income wealthy New Zealanders really earn, versus what they declare on their tax returns.This is mostly not about tax avoidance.Wealthy people tend to accumulate their wealth through owning assets as much as...

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