Kiwis want more taxes and stronger public services. That’s the clear message from independent market research commissioned by the Council of Trade Unions.
The research was commissioned to inform CTU’s submission to the Tax Working Group. It found that 92% of New Zealanders believe public services need more funding and an overwhelming majority of 65% back more taxes to pay for it.
“This is great news for public services and for all Kiwis.” says CTU Secretary Sam Huggard, “It shows that even after decades of being told by big business and their political lobbyists that Kiwis need tax cuts which benefit the already-wealthy, New Zealanders haven’t been taken in.
“The basic maths is if we don’t collect tax we don’t get the public services we rely on. Kiwis clearly get that. They are willing to see more revenue raised, from a broader range of sources, to fund the services that sustain our communities and nation.
“The choice we face is stark. The Tax Working Group has said that our overall tax take can’t provide the public services we rely on now into the future. But taxing pressured families’ incomes more isn’t the only solution – 93% of people would like to see a tax on polluting companies, 90% would like to see more done to make multinational companies pay their fair share, and the majority of New Zealanders would also like to see tax on the profit from selling investment property.
“This research has very clearly shown that Kiwis want our revenue problems fixed. Beyond the options in the survey, we’ve put together a comprehensive suite of solutions for the Tax Working Group. Our political leaders can take confidence from this to rebuild the services Kiwis both need and want.”