by Yannick Vanderborght | Nov 4, 2012 | Research
ABSTRACT: New Zealand is popularly perceived as a laid back place where individuals might choose to live to enjoy a slower paced life style. However the reality is that New Zealanders work some of the longest days and the most hours per annum in the OECD. In this article it is argued that existing legal mechanisms for limiting work time are rooted in increasingly obsolete work patterns premised on strong unions and a workforce of permanent full time employees who are supported by an unpaid female workforce who carry the burden of reproductive care work. However, in New Zealand, as elsewhere, these legal mechanisms have been undermined by de-unionization, the emergence of precarious work, and the growing numbers of women in the workforce. Consequently the ability of workers to limit their work time has been significantly compromised. In the final part of the article it is suggested that a Guaranteed Basic Income could, given the changing nature of work, be a more effective and flexible mechanism for controlling working time than current law.
Amanda Reilly is a lecturer at the School of Accounting and Commercial Law, Victoria University of Wellington.
Full text is online at:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1927024
by Karl Widerquist | Mar 28, 2012 | News
The Welfare Working Group requested Treasury to model a specific Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) scheme for New Zealand. As a result Treasury published an assessment for a universal and unconditional payment of $300 per week to all individuals aged 16 years and over, extra to those families with children. Treasury concludes that tax and equity implications of a New Zealand-specific GMI scheme would lead to:
- More equal distribution of income
- Removal of disincentive for beneficiaries to undertake part-time work
- Poverty reduction
- Possible improvement in labor market outcomes in some areas: more employee flexibility; encouragement of unpaid work; additional employee bargaining power; encouragement of entrepreneurial activity; and reduction in the opportunity cost of full time training or education.
- Lower administrative, management and operating costs
For further information:
https://ips.ac.nz/WelfareWorkingGroup/Downloads/Working%20papers/Treasury-A-Guaranteed-Minimum-Income-for-New-Zealand%20.PDF
Ben Wallace’s response to GMI https://www.oursystem.info/2011/11/gmi-response-to-treasurys-economic.html
by Karl Widerquist | Dec 19, 2011 | News
The Big Kahuna website outlines a detailed proposal for reform of New Zealand’s tax and welfare system. The proposal includes a basic income.
https://www.gmi.co.nz/bigkahuna/
by Karl Widerquist | Mar 17, 2010 | News
According to the New Zealand Herald, “Economist and fund manager Gareth Morgan, who is a member of the Tax Working Group, has proposed a radical tax restructure to the group’s final public conference that would impose a Comprehensive Capital Tax (CCT) on all land, buildings, plant and equipment to raise NZ$19 billion. This money would then be used to create a flat income tax rate of 25% on all corporate, personal and trust income. It would also be used to provide each adult with a NZ$10,000 guaranteed minimum income to replace all benefits”
The Herald article is online at:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10612839
A video of the proposal is online at:
https://www.3news.co.nz/Gareth-Morgans-radical-tax-overhaul/tabid/367/articleID/132177/cat/67/Default.aspx
A blog about the proposal is online at:
https://thestandard.org.nz/guranteed-minimum-income-capital-tax-the-way-forward/
