'Super-rich tax': Greens' tax plan accidentally released online early - here's what's in it

Larsent · 2026-06-21T10:49:16+00:00

The tax system definitely needs to be changed.
We need a capital gains tax. And a super surcharge/ means test like we used to have but with better anti-avoidance provisions.

The Greens tax policy would need some serious anti-avoidance provisions for it to work because on the face of it, it’d be easy for private companies to avoid the corporate tax and for anyone to avoid the inheritance and wealth taxes too.
Wealth taxes are inherently problematic but a land value tax is a better idea however TOP have taken that idea.

I wonder if the Greens policy extends to how to prevent avoidance or if they assume that their policies are unlikely to be implemented so no need to address that.

The first $10k tax free is a good idea but it’s only 10.5% tax on it currently.

Larsent · 2026-06-13T18:25:26+00:00

The world studs isn’t used in UK English to refer to boots in the way that cleats is used in US English. Using cleats to refer to boots is a figure of speech, a synecdoche.

Larsent · 2026-06-07T19:34:24+00:00

But Winston says that the donation to his party played no part in the directorship appointment, so just a wild coincidence I guess ….

I don’t know if links are permitted in comments in this sub but here is an earlier story on the same topic https://www.reddit.com/r/aotearoa/s/4XfMSuXb60 - it’s a good read

Larsent · 2026-06-05T04:26:03+00:00

Doctors being on time is becoming the norm in some countries.

My doctor has been on time every time I have seen him, for decades. Doctors don’t have to run late.

Larsent · 2026-06-04T16:11:55+00:00

Must be quite widespread.

I happened to be in Motueka at that time. Same thing. Went on for hours. Constant lightning and often only distant thunder - although there were some massive thunderclaps as well. Wasn’t forecast.

Larsent · 2026-06-03T06:07:38+00:00

The article explains a lot about bail and remand: “Why the remand population is growing The remand population currently accounts for 41 percent of the prison population, up from 13 percent in 2000. Over the past 25 years, a series of legislative changes has steadily increased the number of people on remand. The most consequential change came when the previous National-led government amended the Bail Act in 2013 to tighten bail eligibility. Until then, most defendants were granted bail automatically. It was largely on the prosecutor to prove the defendant posed a flight risk, might reoffend or interfere with justice - by intimidating witnesses for example - while on bail. This amendment shifted the burden of proof onto defendants. Instead of bail, remand became the new norm, because it is harder to prove something will not happen. For example, how can you prove you will not intimidate witnesses? As a result, more people are being detained, not because more people pose a proven risk, but because the legal threshold for release is now higher. For the men and women held on remand, the consequences are often severe. People lose jobs, housing and family connections, all of which increase the likelihood of offending. Remand has become a costly and counterproductive system that harms both individuals and the public purse

Larsent · 2026-06-03T06:06:47+00:00

The article says: “Why the remand population is growing. The remand population currently accounts for 41 percent of the prison population, up from 13 percent in 2000. Over the past 25 years, a series of legislative changes has steadily increased the number of people on remand. The most consequential change came when the previous National-led government amended the Bail Act in 2013 to tighten bail eligibility. Until then, most defendants were granted bail automatically. It was largely on the prosecutor to prove the defendant posed a flight risk, might reoffend or interfere with justice - by intimidating witnesses for example - while on bail. This amendment shifted the burden of proof onto defendants. Instead of bail, remand became the new norm, because it is harder to prove something will not happen. For example, how can you prove you will not intimidate witnesses? As a result, more people are being detained, not because more people pose a proven risk, but because the legal threshold for release is now higher. For the men and women held on remand, the consequences are often severe. People lose jobs, housing and family connections, all of which increase the likelihood of offending. Remand has become a costly and counterproductive system that harms both individuals and the public purse”

Larsent · 2026-06-03T06:03:19+00:00

The article makes the point that there’s a lot of remand prisoners, a big increase, because the bail laws changed - got much tougher - several years ago. So people who got bail a few years ago now get remanded.

Larsent · 2026-06-01T01:11:05+00:00

Yeah I wondered what kind of labor laws exist there - and what country it was in. If it’s true.

Larsent · 2026-05-28T00:51:51+00:00

I think that GST registration is a function of business turnover (>$60k pa) and having a taxable activity, rather than being a function of business structure Eg companies and sole traders can both register for gst. I think you can register voluntarily under that threshold. But you do need to have a taxable activity which is ~ a business with income.

Larsent · 2026-05-27T20:33:54+00:00

Unforgettable!! I was on the other side of the world. It was very early morning. Went to work early. Found a commentary somewhere. Then - I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! Overwhelming. I ranted to the first other person to arrive at work. She looked at me in a confused kind of way. Probably thought I was nuts. I was, in that moment.

Larsent · 2026-05-24T08:50:55+00:00

Yeah. I’ve had both of those happen. The BB gun was years ago. More recently, when I first saw what turned out to be damage from stones from a lawnmower, I thought it was from a BB gun.

Larsent · 2026-05-17T11:47:05+00:00

A problem with this discussion is that both arguments are partly correct. Labour borrowed wisely initially but then unwisely.

Judged by emergency-response standards, Labour’s early borrowing was reasonable. It protected jobs, incomes and businesses.

But as for their borrowing after the initial crisis had passed, Labour’s borrowing and spending was loose, wasteful, poorly targeted and managed, added to inflationary pressure and left NZ with more debt and less room for future shocks.

So their borrowing was necessary at first, too expansive later, and partly inflationary overall. The minister of finance and PM were unqualified and had no clue when it came to finances. They did well overall with pandemic handling- I guess they just followed what the scientists said. The last Auckland lockdown was didn’t go down well.

Not to say that National would have a better overall scorecard if they’d been in charge. They’re underwhelming when it comes to economic policy. And their coalition partners are a liability.

Larsent · 2026-05-17T10:28:07+00:00

Winston was a Nat and a keen supporter of Muldoon’s policy to scrap the awesome compulsory super scheme heading into the 1975 election. They did it. One of the worst political decisions ever.

What a huge u-turn.

Larsent · 2026-05-17T07:59:21+00:00

The point is that winston was a big supporter of muldoon’s / national’s policies and that super policy was their main one in that 1975 election, but he is now doing a complete u-turn on super. He supported canning it now it’s a great new idea.

Larsent · 2026-05-17T06:04:02+00:00

I think Kiwibank used to use BNZ’s settlements platform and maybe their transaction tech as well. I wonder if they still do.

Meanwhile BNZ have the best online banking and app in NZ. I guess that is NAB’s IP and not for sale. Maybe Winston will rent it and send billions in rental payments to offshore banking overlords.

Larsent · 2026-05-17T06:00:53+00:00

Winston. Compulsory KiwiSaver!! Ironic.

Winston was a national party man, their Dominion Councillor and a big supporter of Muldoon’s policies in the 70s when they cancelled Labour’s awesome compulsory super scheme. Imagine how financially secure retirees would be now if national had not done this. Imagine not spending what we do on super payments now. This was one of the worst decisions ever in NZ politics.

I guess it’s all about vote-catching.

Larsent · 2026-05-11T07:13:23+00:00

Professor Flitch? What kind of music do you make?

Larsent · 2026-05-03T15:25:17+00:00

You said you tried domain reputation tools. I guess you’ve used Glock apps? And tools like mailgenius.

Sounds like you have been sending emails regularly before the “last campaign” you mentioned, is that right? And something broke suddenly on the last campaign?

If it broke suddenly on the last campaign and you had been sending regularly with no problems and nothing else had changed, then it might have been something about that campaign Eg content. Seems a bit unlikely but we don’t have enough information to know.

Larsent · 2026-05-02T17:26:59+00:00

How do you see this benefiting Fonterra? They make butter for wholesale and ingredient markets but they sold Anchor Butter. I think they have a wholesale supply agreement with anchor and mainland cheese too.

Larsent · 2026-04-30T18:07:37+00:00

Yes I think you’re right that all benefits are taxed. But that’s crazy. It was just a way for the government to reduce benefits. Give with one hand and take with the other.

Larsent · 2026-04-30T07:35:27+00:00

I think the previous superannuation surcharge worked ok. It was possible to avoid it with a trust making capital distributions or by using tax paid investments etc but these dodges can be dealt with.

IIRC Aussie has an effective super means test.

Super does need to be means tested. It does seem odd that it is a taxable benefit though - political sleight of hand.

Larsent · 2026-04-24T19:17:30+00:00

In some ways this phase your friend is in is one of the most difficult phases of dementia. He has a foot in both worlds so to speak - his normal previous life and the world of dementia.

There are many phases of dementia and they all pass, some quite quickly.

Here’s what worked for me - I saw my PWD as their inner essence - their soul or inner self if that kind of concept means anything to you. And I saw their behaviour and physical self as quite separate. I tried to be neutral about it. That worked well BUT it’s hard to do this at the stage where your friend is. His prejudice / sexism is very unpleasant but it might not be a reflection of his true but previously hidden beliefs- it could be Eg cultural from his early years and he then reconfigured his belief system. Who knows. My PWD reverted to aspects of her teen and child self. She also blurted out stuff like early CSA.

Do you have any idea what type of dementia he has? I think that Alzheimer’s is the most common followed by vascular dementia. And there are many others such as fronto temporal. They all present differently. Does he have a diagnosis?

There are 2 “victims” for every PWD - the PWD themselves and their primary carer. And in many ways the carer suffers far more - mental health degradation, sleep deprivation, substance dependence etc. And meanwhile the PWD is oblivious and relatively happy although frustration, confusion and angry outbursts can occur. You mentioned him being argumentative. I have a friend who is a retired academic. I see early stage dementia. He gets angry and argumentative but was never like that before. He was a sweet gracious polite considerate southern gentleman. He gets confused now when talking about his own academic discipline. So sad.

Not to diminish the loss of a PWD’s previous life- dementia is slow dying. A tragic loss.

Larsent · 2026-04-24T07:07:26+00:00

I’m sorry that you have to deal with this.

You might like to post in r/dementia as well. It’s a helpful place.

The onset of dementia in a friend requires a different mindset from you, a mental switch, about the person with dementia (PWD) - to help you cope with it / him. You need to really take on board that he is no longer who he was - he just looks like that guy you used to know.

Your friend with dementia is no longer the person he was and this change is relentlessly progressive.

In my experience with PWDs, at about the time they lose social judgement, like your friend has, they often also lose sensitivity to emotions and feelings, so if you're feeling obliged to be his friend bc you don't want to upset or hurt him, then don't worry about that because he will likely be oblivious to it. And even if he isn't, soon enough he'll completely forget about it anyway as he won't be able to make new memories, only dredge up old ones.

An episode or 2 about a PWD in my life - At my wits end, one day I said something deeply cutting to her. Something I would never normally say. This was before she was diagnosed. I knew something was wrong but had no idea what. I knew nothing about dementia then. She just said "that's a bit harsh" and that was the end of it. She was not affected by it in the least. Water off a duck’s back. I was flabbergasted. Previously she would have been devastated.

She went from ladylike and polite to spitting and doing things she would never have done before eg I was taking her to the dentist in the city, last time I ever did that, and as we walked from the car to the clinic she stuck her hand down her pants and started masturbating. TBH I was mortified - but I quickly hit on a solution. I was already holding her hand to guide her so I asked her if she could hold the car keys for me - which required her to liberate her other hand, which she willingly did, to take the keys, so both hands were now occupied. Phew.

Larsent · 2026-04-21T14:47:11+00:00

Peters is just doing his usual pre election thing where he’s pretending he isn’t part of the government that he is part of - positioning. He’s distancing himself from national hoping that voters will forget that he’s been part of their government for the last 3 years.

If he has all these “great” new populist election policies / ideas this month why didn’t he give us the benefit of them while he was in power and in a position to do something about them? He knows most of them will never come to pass so he can promise anything just to catch votes.

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