Controversy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Controversy - Essay Example In fact, the market economy of New Zealand is one of the most prosperous economies of the world with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $181.3 billion, as on April, 2013 (OECD, 2013). Taxation in New Zealand is a vast and complex phenomenon. Since 1980, the country is going through significant tax reform programs for the purpose of restructuring its marginal tax rate system. In 2010, the marginal income tax rate was reduced from 66% to 33%, corporate tax rate was also diminished from 48% to 33%. GST (Goods and Service Tax) was introduced at a rate of 10% initially. However, imposition of Capital Gain Tax in New Zealand still remains a controversial issue. A Capital Gain Tax may be defined as the tax levied on realization of assets such as shares, bonds and properties or capital gains for individuals and corporations. This kind of tax is imposed when investors realize a profit by selling the capital asset at a price higher than the purchase price. In this paper, the significance of introducing Capital Gains Taxation in New Zealand’s economy will be discussed and eventually relevant inference regarding the concerned matter will be drawn (OECD, 2013). New Zealand is one among the three countries in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which is not having Capital Gains Tax. According to the reports from March, 2014 both the Labour Party and Green Party of New Zealand are advocating the importance of imposing Capital Gains Tax. However, implication of imposition of such tax burden is still in debate (Claus, Creedy & Teng, 2012). Capital Gains Tax from economic income perspective is a long debated issue. Arguments can be introduced in this regard by experiencing the Labour Party’s effort to establish horizontally equitable income by taxing the capital gain on accrual basis and by imposing taxes at an equal rate on capital gain irrespective of their other source of income. Apart from that, be it Labour or Green Party, the