dant03

The proper way to levy taxation

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The full set of briefings to incoming ministers (BIMs) following the recent election are now helpfully available on a single page, and between them cover a host of quite interesting, practical, and in some cases timely economic questions. One quite meaty suggestion that I noticed in Treasury’s BIM related to taxation, but it was given very little space (perhaps they knew that it would be ignored?).

The full passage is quoted below, but the bit of interest is in the final bullet:

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Patrick Nolan

Taxing times

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Below is a link to an updated calculator that allows people to compare how their tax situation would change should they shift to Australia.

Taxing times.

The model also allows people to work out how the tax situation and family income assistance for people in their circumstances have changed this century.

The provision of tax relief in this year’s New Zealand budget has closed part of the tax gap with Australia. Yet while this relief kept pace with recent changes in Australia, the growth in the tax gap over the earlier part of this century largely remains unaddressed.

While incomes remain higher in Australia than in New Zealand, Australia will remain an attractive country for Kiwi workers to relocate to. Given the commitment in Australia to reviewing the tax system (including family income assistance) to attract and retain workers in competitive global labour markets, the competition for workers with Australia is only going to become more important for New Zealand.

jamesz

Investment banks as flattery machines

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34812strip

Were investment bankers successful because they made their investors feel smarter for investing with them?

jamesz

Will manicures make me happier?

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A Californian friend commented to me recently that NZ women have a reputation in the US for being ungroomed. She was shocked to learn that most NZ women don’t dye their hair or get weekly manicures and pedicures. More surprising still was seeing women in public without make-up on! It all reminded me of the way I sometimes hear American commentators cite laziness as the reason for French productivity growth being lower than in the US.

Any economist would explain both of these phenomena as resulting from different preferences across leisure and consumption. Read more

goonix

Cheers! We’re (possibly) efficiently taxing ourselves – Alcohol in NZ

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A few medical experts and lobbyists are calling for a “massive” hike in alcohol prices to solve a “national booze problem”.

According to the article, alcohol costs $425 million in ACC payouts, $655 million in the public health sector, and $1.17 billion in lost productivity each year and is a contributing factor to 70 per cent of emergency hospital admissions and well over half of all crime.

Alcohol is a product that is already heavily taxed. The question is: is the current level of alcohol tax sufficient to internalise all costs of alcohol consumption (including those outlined above)?

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Matt Nolan

Phoenix Perth 1-1

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How did other people find the game last night.

I have to admit that it was probably the worst refing performance I’ve seen in my life – did the ref know that you weren’t allowed to touch the ball with your hand?  At first his calls were bad, but by the second half they were bad and inconsistent.

Now I don’t like to complain about the ref – but in this case it was atrocious.  Did anyone else feel that the ref was having a bad day or do you all think I’m being a big whiner 🙂

I’m not saying that he was biased – I did not think he was.  He was just all over the show.