Low income property

LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff Shane Jones claimed New Zealand First killed off the capital gains tax in June 2019. “A reckoning is coming” for New Zealand’s tax system, which relies too heavily on tax on income – and not enough on taxing other sorts of wealth, one tax expert says. It was revealed on Thursday that the wealthiest New Zealanders pay just 12 per cent of their total income in tax , on average. That compares with an effective tax rate of about 16-18 per cent on New Zealanders earning the median income from salaries and wages of $55,000-$60,000. The difference is because the wealthiest New Zealanders earn more of their income from parts of the economy that are taxed lightly or not at all, such as capital gains on investments. READ MORE: Capital Gains Tax: Attack on middle New Zealand or treating everyone fairly? Capital gains tax: Tax Working Group announces support for capital gains tax, cuts to income tax Damien Grant: There is nothing fair about a Cullen … [Read more...] about ‘Reckoning’ coming for unsustainable tax system, commentator says

British-Swedish pharma giant AstraZeneca and US pharmaceutical major Novavax have told lawmakers that they are ready to scale up their production of Covid-19 vaccines in partnership with the Serum Institute of India . Located in the city of Pune in Maharashtra, the SII is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume. It is manufacturing the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which is known locally as Covishield . Covishield was granted emergency use listing by the World Health Organisation (WHO) this month, allowing it to be supplied to low and middle-income countries around the world. "Together with our partner, the Serum Institute of India, we plan to supply over 300 million doses to 145 countries through COVAX in the first half of 2021 as part of our global and equitable access pledge," Ruud Dobber, president of AstraZeneca's biopharmaceuticals business, said. "The majority of this supply will go to low and … [Read more...] about Tie-up with Serum Institute of India key to mass production of Covid vaccines, say two pharma majors

RNZ The Government will announce initiatives designed to cool the property market and help first home buyers. (First published February 2, 2021) ANALYSIS: If you’re hoping to buy a house in the next couple of years, you might want to look away. First-home buyers’ goalposts have shifted again, according to new data from Corelogic. The property research firm tracks the median purchase price paid by first-home buyers. In January, that was $650,000, up from $608,000 in December. Stuff ’s housing affordability dashboard, which is based on the CoreLogic figures and income data from Infometrics, shows it would now require a first-home household on a median income of $95,000 a year, saving 30 per cent of their earnings, to save for 238 weeks to amass a 20 per cent deposit. The figure is up from 206 weeks in January last year and 221 weeks in December. That’s an extra three-and-a-half-months of saving compared to last month, or an extra 7.5 months compared to a year ago. … [Read more...] about First-home buyers’ hurdle increases again, data shows

Hot on the heels of a Government initiative to cool the housing market, BNZ’s chief economist has backed calls to make house prices more affordable. Paul Conway says whether prices simply trade sideways for a while or somehow fall, the housing market is getting too expensive for the country’s wellbeing. But he says the solution must also involve creating strong alternatives other than housing for people to invest into. ‘’Housing affordability is a massive challenge in New Zealand and we have to do something about it. READ MORE: Reserve Bank ordered to consider housing in decision-making More than 40% of millionaires paying tax rates lower than the lowest earners, Government data reveals ‘’If you look at inequality in New Zealand, for example, that’s been less about income inequality blowing out ... it’s been the housing market that has been the key driver in the increase in inequality that’s in front of our eyes in New Zealand, and it’s just been exacerbated by the … [Read more...] about Super-charged house prices ‘can’t continue’: BNZ economist