Photo: RNZPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern might have ruled out bringing in a capital gains tax, yet there is already a tax on the books that could do the job instead. Yet - if given a simple tweak - it could be turned into an effective capital gains tax targeting the profits investors made when buying and selling homes, Michael Rehm and Yang Yang said in a new research paper. Investors were already subject to a capital gains-like tax in the form of the so-called brightline test. Last week, Finance Minister Grant Robertson asked Treasury to investigate extending the brightline test even further. Rental property investments almost always turned out poorly against comparable investments when capital gains were excluded, Rehm said.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 28, 2020 05:15 UTC