All sorts of business agencies are acting all butt-hurt about the proposal to tax car parks:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8420071/Business-will-evade-car-park-tax
The reaction by political parties is off the mark:
 Silent T has waded in to say that Labour wouldn’t support the legislation in it’s current form. Tax lovin’ Labour should by rights be silent whilst counting the potential sacks of gold in the cellar.
ACT generally opposes onerous business tax; they could be being more oppositional by attacking the whole premise of taxable benefits and promoting the deduction of work related costs. Slackers.
However loud the fuss that is kicked up, it can be argued that FBT on carparks is a tax that fits well within the framework of New Zealand’s taxation policy and is largely irreproachable with regards to the adherence to New Zealand’s taxation vision. That is, to say: Fair and equitable taxation “snort”, with a view to broadening the tax base.
 To whit:
NZ assets with a high realizable value that are provided to employees without charging have historically been subject to FBT: these include motor vehicles, loans at lower than market interest, use of free or discounted assets and services and employer contibution to savings schemes. Carparks owned by the business and supplied to employers have a high market value and may be used as part of a salary package. Have you seen the cost of carparks these day? It isn’t a trivial cost. I was interested in a wellington apartment recently and had the option of adding on a carpark. The value of this was $75,000. If you have some of these puppies attached to your workplace and supply them free of charge to employees then it is arguable that this is a fringe benefit.
Don’t be distracted by the moral “pennypinching” argument. “Morals” should have no place in politics. The employment of the “moral” argument is the single factor that makes today’s politics a circus with Winston in a leotard.
As in: Morally you should not let
That the aspersion that taxing the benefit of car parks is morally wrong is being cast around by the right and left field is interesting. This is the first occasion that NACTUF is being attacked on both flanks.
PS:
I think taxing mobile phones and laptops is rubbish. This is penny pinching given the average Wellington eight year old can boast of possession of one or t’other.
