Posts by Kyle Matthews
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If capital improvements to private dwellings are to be tax free, whilst those on rental dwellings are taxed at 15%, capital improvements to private property will be preferred and those to rental property deferred. Overall this is not good for the people who rent, if their landlord is going to be penalised for making improvements to their accomodation.
That's not my understanding of what we're likely to see. Capital gain is profit you make from your house value increasing just because houses do that.
Investing money by improving the property would be exempt from the capital gains tax wouldn't it? Otherwise if you buy a empty bit of land, build a house on it, and then sell it, you'd be taxed on the whole house value as a capital gain.
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He initially pleaded guilty, until it became clear that the police were not going to consider diversion.
In which case, the police are being dishonest about the reasoning for not offering diversion?
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Good story by Sunday, and good on them for scoffing at the police threats.
The police statement that diversion hasn't been offered because he hadn't admitted guilt seems bizarre. He seems to admit that he was taking the lightbulbs, something isn't right there?
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So the “lions share” is not being paid by the wealthy, but by ordinary working stiffs.
It's a little difficult to tell from your spreadsheet and post, but I think you've overstated that. People earning a million dollars a year also earn (and pay tax) in the blue, green, and pink zones, yet you've counted their income as part of the ordinary working stiffs, which they're clearly not.
Like others, I'd like to see the reinstatement of a top tax band, but I'd like it to be out a fair way - $150,000 or something - and a tax free band for your first chunk of income.
I'd see just as important however the introduction of a system for moving the bands in line with inflation. Wage creep is a tremendous boom for governments, and they basically can increase their future income by setting hard bands and knowing pay rises are going to move people up the scales. If IRD can increase student loan repayment rates (finally paid mine off last month after 15 years - screw you Lockwood Smith) then they can increase tax bands as well.
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Indeed. And from that point of view, the “family home” is more productive than rental property, because home ownership generally improves tenure security/reduces residential mobility; and both tenure security and reduced residential mobility are associated with improved social outcomes.
This discussion that houses are part of the productive economy feels bizarre to me. The definition is fairly standard, houses aren't part of it, and redefining the word doesn't seem particularly useful. Houses are many things - important, useful, central to NZ culture, they're not "productive" in economics speak.
Say, you have a property which you’re renting out, for which you set the rental such that you end up making a net $10,000 loss for the year. I know that you can arrange your affairs so that this loss counts against your tax liability: so on a personal income of $80k, say, you end up paying tax on $70k. Righto? What I don’t get it how this is so tempting. Yes, you’ve got $10k of your income upon which you avoid paying any tax (which you would otherwise have paid at the top tax rate); but you’ve still lost $10k. At the end of the day, you’re more out of pocket than you would have been if you’d broken even on the rental and just paid your full whack of personal tax. The ability to claim back the loss against your tax helps soften the blow, but certainly doesn’t eliminate it.
My understanding (no one else seems to have answered this fully) is:
1. You collect rent for the year - say $20,000.
2. You pay your costs - mortgage, rates - say $15,000.
3. In order to avoid paying taxes on the $5,000 in between, you spend the money on the house (or quite likely, you own 10, and you take all the $50,000, and do one house a year on a cycle).
4. Some of your spending is on maintenance, but some includes capital improvements - maybe you install a new fireplace or heat pump, add a garage, deck, etc.
5. When you sell the house, your captial investments which you haven't paid tax on, mean you sell the house for more that you would have if you hadn't added the fireplace etc to it. No capital gains tax is currently paid on this profit. -
I'm slightly excited about the event, though the ticket prices have turned me off to going to see any of the games.
I've always been an advocate of Dunedin getting a new stadium. Ignoring some of the details and the way that the one we've gotten has been paid for, I like the new stadium. Nuts that for many years we've had our primary sporting venue stuck in a residential area. I drive past the new stadium several times a week, it's going to be a fantastic facility with its roof.
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What I do which others don’t is stack each of the same utensil together. Doesn’t take much longer to stack but makes the emptying far quicker.
If everyone would just adopt this, my world would be a happier place. Thank you.
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As someone who was at the Family First event I have a first hand report on what Goff and Key said. I intend to do another on other aspects as well.
Interesting that both had the questions given to them beforehand. On that basis, Key did pretty awfully in the clip I saw on TV where he answered along the lines of "Umm, I'd have to look into that". If that was his prepared answer...
I don't mind party leaders going to these sorts of things and being polite, but clearly putting forward their party policy. What would most concern me if they went there and pandered for those votes, and then said something different elsewhere.
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I look forward to another sanctimonious blog on Beige Alert from Grant Robertson saying that he’d “like” an inquiry, but I suppose even that would constitute some sort of follow-up. One of that hypocrite’s canvassers wasted my time the other day and I made it clear that if he thinks he can do without my vote and refuse to answer correspondence, then he will do without my vote.
Goff did the same with Stevenson’s revelations about Afganistan: it was “unacceptable” and there should be an inquiry. Nice headline, and then not a peep.
Sorry, what were they supposed to do? Start an inquiry at Labour Party HQ?
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I think that side of things is massively overrated. I can't imagine going to my local MP as first port of call for any issue except, maybe, a local issue. And here's the thing - I don't really have local issues much. If I do, I change location.
I think it's underrated personally. For people who are dealing with local issues that need a national spotlight, or even local issues that need a power outside the local power structure. I know lots of people who have found their local MP useful.