Laura O’Connell Rapira | Contributing writer, the spinoff, 21 Sept, 2020.
Let’s put tax at the core of this election. Sharing wealth is how we share care and responsibility for this land and all of the people in it, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira
It’s election season in the middle of a pandemic and global economic crisis. These are strange times we find ourselves in, and looking after each other has never been more important.
What’s also important is thinking about who we trust to lead us out of this moment and into a prosperous future. In my view, that means voting for political parties that are willing to reform our tax system to help people thrive and the planet flourish.
Taxes are a highly efficient way of pooling our collective resources to fund public projects and services that benefit all of us. They fund schools, roads, trains, nurses, mental health workers, teachers, public housing, income support, conservation, superannuation, national parks, kindergartens, recycling, sewage treatment – the list goes on. Without tax, we would have to try and buy these things as individuals. Can you imagine having to organise everything needed to run your local library, landfill, community law centre and hospital? Ain’t nobody got time for that.
In all honesty, I’ve never met a tax I didn’t like. Wealth tax. Inheritance tax. Land tax (with exceptions for Māori land). Financial transactions tax. Comprehensive capital income tax. Progressive income tax (with exceptions for people on low-incomes). I love them all.
