Capital gains tax: yes or no?

16 Nov 2009 04:42p.m.

Bruce wrote:

Oh real clever stuff! Wait until many good sensible kiwi citizens have dug in deep, accepted the risk and taken personal responsibility for their own retirement plan through the purchase and care of 1 or 2 rental/investment properties then hit 'em in the bread basket with tax that wasn't there when they made their investment plans. Typical of the kiwi political clobbering machine...

14 Nov 2009 04:48p.m.

David wrote:

Property speculaters are damaging the recovery.. these are generally wealthy men and women like english and key.
Of course there should be a capital gains tax, that way everyone is contributing to the recovery.. however instead we are likely to be hit with an increase in GST where low income earners are the ones hit hardest.

Make the fat cats pay their fare share.

12 Nov 2009 07:21p.m.

Ben wrote:

All that needs to be done is to ring fence LAQC losses from a persons personal income and just allow forward tax credits to the operating losses of a rental property to future income on that property. This will encourage responsible long term INVESTMENT. As opossed to the rampant speculation of the last five years. Productive investments such as equitys and bonds need to also be seen as an attractive alternative to real estate investment as property investment adds little to an economy. The current taxation environment makes these investments less atractive as the are heavily taxed where property in most cases is used as atax avoidance scheme.

11 Nov 2009 09:02p.m.

Terence wrote:

I think a capital gains tax would be useful but the family home must be exempt and the family home would need to be stipulated. Property investors are driving the cost of housing for the average person beyond their grasp. It would have to be a graduated tax based on the number of properties owned, and this would make it difficult to administer. I think a tax like the poll tax should be looked at as this would spread the load over far more people who use services but don't pay towards them in rates etc. However the best way would be for Government to take all our money in tax and just give us pocket money as we pay over 50% in taxes anyway be far more efficient don't you think.

10 Nov 2009 08:53p.m.

oma wrote:

It might have its place for those who own more than two homes. But don't plunder from the honest people trying to get a step up by purchasing a rental property and there by potentially securing their retirement. It should be reserved for property developers who can better afford it.

10 Nov 2009 10:29a.m.

john wrote:

Government better put a lot more money aside for state housing type ventures because a short sighted capital gains tax will place much more pressure on the rental market. Not only will rents have to be increased to provide a better return to make owning a rental property attractive but a lot of investors will ditch their properties leaving a severe shortage of rental accomodation (adding more pressure to rents). The only reason people are seriously considering these options are in response to the lower tax take due to a market blip (global financial crisis). When the world has recovered and the company tax take is higher the government will have forgotton all about this tax option as it will no longer be required. My wife and I own a 1/2 share in an Australian rental property with friends as much better protection offered to the landlord in Queensland. ie the law is the right way around - protection for those that have something to lose. Not like in NZ where lousy tenants get all the rights and the property owner gets none! We're encouraged to start saving for our retirements and not to expect the government to look after all of us in our old age but now they want to add disincentives to that as well. May as well sit on the couch and feed off the state - sounds much easier!

10 Nov 2009 10:29a.m.

john wrote:

Government better put a lot more money aside for state housing type ventures because a short sighted capital gains tax will place much more pressure on the rental market. Not only will rents have to be increased to provide a better return to make owning a rental property attractive but a lot of investors will ditch their properties leaving a severe shortage of rental accomodation (adding more pressure to rents). The only reason people are seriously considering these options are in response to the lower tax take due to a market blip (global financial crisis). When the world has recovered and the company tax take is higher the government will have forgotton all about this tax option as it will no longer be required. My wife and I own a 1/2 share in an Australian rental property with friends as much better protection offered to the landlord in Queensland. ie the law is the right way around - protection for those that have something to lose. Not like in NZ where lousy tenants get all the rights and the property owner gets none! We're encouraged to start saving for our retirements and not to expect the government to look after all of us in our old age but now they want to add disincentives to that as well. May as well sit on the couch and feed off the state - sounds much easier!

09 Nov 2009 11:14p.m.

Paul wrote:

Most property investors that I know are like myself - just 1 or 2 properties that we strive to care for - in the hope that one day they will pay us a return. My wife and I have had our 1 investment property for 15 years and it is finally paying us a small return (less than $20 a week)and eventually we will own it when the mortgage is all done, and obviously we will get an increasing share of the weekly rental for ourselves. But we have been at the whim of market pressures for many years, and it has been a risk. We have had some ungrateful tenants that made us want to sell. So for Hilda to lump all investors together as "greedy investors" is in my mind a bit harsh. To be brutally honest - there are people that are incapable of managing their money well enough to ever afford a house of their own. So where would those people be if not for us so called "greedy investors".

09 Nov 2009 03:38p.m.

Hilda wrote:

Of course we need them. We have a housing shortage today because of greedy investors buying up property driving up prices. It's ordinary Kiwis that can't purchase houses today that's to these hoarders. Typical for 'property experts' to believe the tax doesn't work. We need it urgently to free up housing from greedy investors.