National campaigned on a proposal to adjust the existing tax thresholds, but as part of coalition negotiations with ACT last year, it agreed to consider whether the “concepts” of ACT’s tax policy could be incorporated “subject to no earner being worse off than they would be under National’s plan”.
In simple terms, ACT would immediately axe the lowest tax threshold of 10.5 percent, meaning the government would collect more revenue from all income earners.
Some of that extra revenue would then be returned to low-and-middle income earners through a targeted tax credit to ensure they were not worse off.
The money left over would allow the government to reduce the higher tax rates at the top of the income scale - dropping the 33 percent rate to 30, and the 39 percent rate to 33
When you have a 10% or more higher tax rate than other jurisdictions, it starts to create a pretty strong incentive for your top tax earners to just leave though, assuming their income is portable enough.
We as a society need to stop wringing our hands about some rich fuckers leaving and instead star worrying about the stuff that makes those rich fucker’s profits possible: the working class, infrastructure and health care.
My point was, if they pack up and leave the country, you would end up with less tax that you would have if you left things as they were.
I do not for a second think the total tax take would fall if the top brackets was raised 10%.
Those that leave the instant they pay more tax often mitigate their tax obligation already. Off-shoring profits is very common, for example.