Time for a new Tax System for New Zealand

It is clear the we need:

1. a significant reduction in income and wealth inequality. It got significantly worse in the late 1980's and early 1990's, through the actions of the then Labour and National Governments. and it is now growing again. To do this we need to increase the income and wealth of the poor and decrease the income and wealth of the very rich. The consequences of significant income and wealth inequality are bad--worsening social ills, causing a breakdown in the cohesiveness of society and adversely affecting the economy.

2. to better look after our poor and disadvantaged - of whom we have too many.

3. to significantly reduce child poverty.

4. to significantly reduce our infrastructure deficit.

5. to significantly increase the number of "social" houses. We have a shameful number of our people living in the street, sleeping in cars or suffering from ill health in poor accommodation.

6. to significantly improve the funding of our public services (such as public health and public education) and retain the skill and extent of our public service.

The best way to achieve all of this is through a revamp of our tax system which is currently unfair, inconsistent and which raises insufficient government funds.

Peter Malcolm