Search

New Zealand is a high-tax country compared to prosperous non-European countries but much of the money appears ill spent. One example of poor outcomes is government spending of about $130,000 to educate an average school pupil to age 15. Read more

Treasury’s latest stakeholder survey shows that I’m far from the only one worried about declining economic capabilities at the Government’s lead economics advisor. Keeping all the stakeholders happy is an impossible task for any organisation. Read more

The Tax Working Group's interim report released on Thursday rightly disposes of some unworthy proposals but confounds some others, particularly the capital gains issue. My list in the former category includes its position on tax and housing affordability, GST exemptions, and progressive company tax rates. Read more

Nutrient load is too high in too many New Zealand lakes and rivers. Cleaning up the mess featured prominently in last year’s election. Read more

“Productivity isn’t everything but in the long run it is almost everything,” observed economist Paul Krugman. “A country’s ability to improve its standard of living over time depends almost entirely on its ability to raise output per worker.” This is bad news for New Zealand. Read more

In his latest 'Spotlight on Europe' column for Newsroom, Dr Oliver Hartwich explains just how undemocratic the European Union is, while at the same time it keeps trying to tell its members to be democratic. “I’d never join a club that would accept me as a member,” says Woody Allen’s character in Annie Hall. Read more

Every two years, Treasury surveys stakeholders about Treasury’s performance. The 2015 survey was up on Treasury’s website about two months after it was completed. Read more