And Key himself was talking about a "3 or 4 billion dollar package", wasn't he?

And Johnny would never tell a lie!

And Key himself was talking about a "3 or 4 billion dollar package", wasn't he?

And Johnny would never tell a lie!

Should have called it a "6 to 8 billion dollar package": $3b-$4b in tax cuts, and $3b-$4b in tax increases...

The comments on the article on Stuff indicate that the public is not fooled, however. I loved the one that called key "the most anti-natalist ruler since King Herod."

Good post.

Now, the frontline in the war on numeracy has shifted to "4 – 4 = 0, not 4 mutherfuckers!". Clearly, this is not going well.

found it interesting that the Herald's graphic in today's paper (showing what your net gain from the tax cuts minus GST hike would be) started the income at $30,000,

Recently 2500 people queuing for supermarket jobs was treated by our corporate media like a revelation from another country. Why should?

No need existed to bait Fat with idle questions, such as, "If God can do anything can he create a ditch so wide he can't jump over it?" We had plenty of real questions that Fat couldn't field. Our friend Kevin always began his?

Wait, what?

Damn it, I already played my Pride and Prejudice and Zombies card, although it would have been near perfect in this case.

And to think, not even a bite from our resident Austenite.

The thing which gets me about the rise in GST (and excuse me if this point has come up on a different thread) is that many people wont pay much more GST at all. Those people are the GST registered?

You don't have to register for GST if you earn below $30k

Optional below 40k

You're making it very difficult for our National Overlords and their MSM toadies to achieve the consensus reality we require in order to make New Zealand internationally competitive.

PS NSFW. Sorry, I forgot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lstDdzedgcE

That is all.

a cover for something else nasty that we haven't thought of

What, beneficiary bashing, national standards, tertiary student funding cuts and mining national parks aren't enough already?

They'll be increasing GST for sure – it's an easy large chunk of income whose compliance costs mainly fall on businesses and organisations.?

:)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JySddEdGkVY/SrsNjpbpW0I/AAAAAAAAATk/2gm14L6JuNc/s1600-h/zombie_revolution_screen.jpg

And it's small businesses, their owners, employees and suppliers who will suffer from any suppression of consumption in favour of 'saving' and 'investment'.

Ah yes,. I did have to get out the hankie when One News trotted out a flat screen TV and a $60K car as case studies in?

I did have to get out the hankie

Me too – and none of the coverage seemed to do the obvious and find an item priced in multiples of $40 that would go up $1. Or better still, work out annualised costs for common expenses like power bills.

voting for?

Craig, are you arguing that because Labour did a bad thing, I can't criticise National for making it worse?

Dude, that is his only argument. EVER.

Dude, that is his only argument. EVER.

And your only response to anything I say is a snide bad-faith drive by. Which reminds me I've not poked Master Bater over at Kiwiblog for a while...

Craig, are you arguing that because Labour did a bad thing, I can't criticise National?

his only argument

It's a weak card, but Craig does have others and is capable of playing them with style. I like it when he does.

GST increase will have only minor temporary effect judging by last time, say tax group head Bob Buckle, historian Paul Goldsmith and Retailers Association honcho John Alberton.

Yeah, but what do those people think they're saying? Of course a rise in GST only causes a 'small blip' in inflation. That's?

The last para in your short post is very important. It puts these cuts into political persepctive.
I'd love to hear Cullen's private thoughts right now.

Yeah, but what do those people think they're saying?

More to the point, if it's only going to have a minor transitory effect then why bother? Tell it to someone who buys food each week forever. Truthiness in the air..

buy a t shirt ?

Sorry, but I already have my next politicised cartoon zombie t-shirt purchase sorted: Ben Franklin and the Dead Presidents doing Thriller.

Thank you for fleshing that out, Craig. Do you think you could continue to do that in future? Because I'm afraid I really couldn't have inferred all that from your previous comment.

You're welcome — though I can't bloody win. Either it's "dude, you do bang on" or "well, that?

and you can't register [for GST if] you are part of the PAYE tax system

You cannot claim expenses incurred in earning income that has PAYE deducted. Which means you cannot register for and process GST if your income is solely wages/salary. If you're a sole-trader who has a part-time?

$0. That's what "revenue neutral" means.

Ahem.

$12 million tax increase. That's what "revenue neutral" really means.

I remember when I used to get outraged about people failing to adjust shit by CPI and drawing inappropriate conclusions from indicies.

Yeah...

($4b x CPI) – ($4b x LCI) = $12 million?

Wage and salary earners have no deductions available to them in relation to that income,

Not quite true. Charitable donations and donations to schools are deductible but we were talking GST.

They're rebated, not deducted. That is, you claim them back from the IRD rather than putting them as deductions?

So, the median income is around the decile 5 boundary of $23,000 a year. But the median income for wage and salary earners for that year was $729 a week,?

Idiot/Savant has done some more work on NZ's income distribution,

Thanks, Sacha. I'd read that this morning and then driven myself mad trying to find it again somewhere in Keith's last four columns.

which highlights why our decision-makers are so out of touch

In using the term "out of touch", I feel that you're being quite.. umm.. what is it? Polite? Kind? Generous? Strategic?

C'mon. No one actually believes that it is some kind of omission, or accident, that they're throwing around terms?

In using the term "out of touch", I feel that you're being quite.. umm.. what is it? Polite? Kind? Generous? Strategic?

I'll take the first three – for novelty value, you understand :)

Includes enjoyable homebrew analogue computing.

Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott wants to catch up with New Zealand.

Mr Key declined to comment directly on the Herald reader survey on the basis that it was "not scientific".

Labour leader Phil Goff also questioned whether the survey reflected wider opinion.

I thought John Key's response to the Herald Readers' Survey on the GST increase was halfway decent. After all,?

Why are "we" doing this? Why are "we" allowing this? I can't believe that NZ has failed to grasp the fact?

Anyone on PS got any shares they want to part with?

Yours for 220c if you're buying, my son.

Although a broker might get you a better price:NZX