Robin Oliver: OliverShaw Tax Partner on ASB's chief executive saying Kiwis need to pay more taxes

One expert has rejected the claim that Kiwis need to pay more taxes.

ASB chief executive Vittoria Shortt says New Zealand has to bring in more tax dollars to fund the infrastructure the nation needs.

This follows ANZ's boss calling for New Zealand to introduce a capital gains tax.

OliverShaw Tax Partner Robin Oliver says the nation can't be taxed into prosperity.

"Our issue as a country is - we struggle to pay the same rate as Australia, we're falling behind. That means we can't pay our doctors, nurses, police enough. We need to grow wages, grow the economy, that takes higher productivity, more investment and more innovation." 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Heather do Away, the huddles with us. Shortly we've got
Trishurs and Joseph Begani standing by. Now, a second big
bank boss is calling for more tax asb's chief executive,
Attoria Shorter set in an interview that we need to
lean into taxes so we can pay for infrastructure. And
this of course comes hot on the heels of the
A and Z boss Antonio Watson calling for a capital
gains tax just a few weeks ago. Robin Oliver is

(00:22):
a tax partner at Oliver Shawan with us. Hey, Robin, hi,
are you keen to pay for more tax? You think
it's a great idea?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
No, you cannot tack yourself to prosperity. Our issue is
a country is sabilized by the fact we struggle to
pay the same wages as a strudy. We're falling behind.
That means we, for example, we can't pay our doctors, nurses, teachers,
police it up. We need to grow wages, grow the
economy that takes higher productivity takes more investment and morenovation,

(00:54):
and tax is the enemy of those it decreases. It's
a disincentive to save invested. So the last thing we
want to do is lead into taxes.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
So speaking of which, then, are you liking what David
Seymour said over the weekend and perhaps even what Winston
Peters said about attracting the foreign investment.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Absolutely, we've got to attract foreign investment. We've got to
encourage people to say for domestic investment, and we've got
to make New Zealand a great place for investment and
for innovative people to live it, and high taxes don't
do it.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Do you have any What puzzles me, Robin, is why
both of these ladies are suddenly so keen on taxes.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Is it because they really believe it? Or is there
some sort of branding thing going on here where they
think that they can get some positive, positive publicity for it.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
I assume that they look at you know, they ad
infrastructure deficit and say, well, how do we fix it?
And they don't understand the cost of taxes. It's not
like you raise a dollar of tax for me and
then there's a dollar that goes to the government which
can then spend it, assuming that government spends it wisely.

(02:08):
The estimates of New Zillan Treasury are that twenty percent
of the money raised in tax is wasted by those
disincentives reducing the economy, so that means you just end
up with eighty cents and then the government doesn't spend
it well, you end up with less. This is the
load to poverty. This is the road we can't afford surgeons, doctors, nurses, teachers, police.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Yeah, Robin, some very good points mate there. Thank you
so much for the expertise. It's Robin Oliver Oliver Share
Tax Partner. For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen
live to news talks they'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.