Kia ora supporters of tax justice,
The Tax Justice petition will be presented to Parliament on Tuesday 16 August. The Labour MP for Mangere, Su'a William Sio, will be accepting the petition and presenting it to the House. That means we've only got a month left to push towards our goal of 50,000 signatures. We need to be busy.
A copy of the Tax Justice petition can be downloaded here. Please print it off and collect more signatures through your networks. If you want to be part of teams collecting signatures in the last weeks of the campaign contact us ASAP, email vaughangunson@taxjustice.org.nz or ph/txt 021-0415 082.
Post in completed petition sheets NOW
Completed petition sheets are being received nearly everyday from volunteers around the country. If you've got any completed petition sheets please send them in now. Post to:
Tax Justice
PO Box 13-685
Auckland 1061
Well positioned
With the Labour Party expected to unveil a Capital Gains Tax as one of its campaign policies, taxing the rich more and giving tax relief to grassroots New Zealanders looks set to be an election issue. Our demands to remove GST from all food (not just fresh fruit and vegetables) and tax financial speculation instead, fits entirely with this debate. The Tax Justice campaign is well positioned to help shift the tax debate leftwards (see our latest media release).
A broad coalition
We've been advocating a broad coalition of parliamentary parties and campaigning organisations that works together to achieve a radical change to New Zealand's unjust tax system. Taking GST off food, which has broad popular support and could be done immediately, would undermine GST and create the political conditions for the eventual phasing out of this tax which hurts ordinary people most.
A Financial Transaction Tax applied to at least financial markets would confront head-on the big players in global capitalism today. Winning the popular debate and implementing such a tax in New Zealand can only be achieved by a broad coalition of forces working together. And most likely as part of a wider political revolt in this country fueled by grassroots anger at worsening economic austerity, and inspired by waves of revolt globally.
Because a Financial Transaction Tax targets the money flows of global capital, and because hyper-speculation is capitalism's last ditch profit strategy, opposition of powerful forces will be fierce. The struggle for Financial Transaction Taxes, both within national borders and internationally, will require and encourage a Global Uniting of grassroots forces. A broad coalition for tax justice in New Zealand would be part of an international struggle.
There are political opportunities and new forces emerging in New Zealand today. Exciting times! We need to work broadly together inside and outside of Parliament to turn policies on paper into a new reality.
In solidarity,
Vaughan Gunson
Tax Justice campaign coordinator
vaughangunson@taxjustice.org.nz
021-0415 082
No comments:
Post a Comment