Populist tax policy is sleepwalking New Zealand into fiscal trouble

There was good news this week for those who don’t like paying tax: one political party ruled out not just a capital gains tax, but all taxes. Income tax, corporate tax, goods and services tax, road user charges… you name it, it's gone. Examples include the Act Party’s proposed referendum to redefine treaty principles, the Maori Party’s plan to establish a separate parliament, and now the Green Party’s wealth tax. A wealth tax is not a particularly outlandish idea compared to the other two examples cited above, both of which would be significant constitutional reforms. Farmers, and the rural communities that surround them, are another important demographic that hates the idea of wealth, capital, or land taxes.