Open AccessAdvancing better tax policy: the role of wealth taxes in New Zealand
Author(s) -
Lisa Marriott
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
policy quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2324-1101
pISSN - 2324-1098
DOI - 10.26686/pq.v12i3.4604
Subject(s) - redistribution (election) , economics , inequality , redistribution of income and wealth , national wealth , capital (architecture) , labour economics , capital gains tax , economic inequality , estate , estate tax , public economics , indirect tax , tax reform , macroeconomics , finance , political science , history , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology , politics , law , unemployment
Most OECD countries have seen increasing gaps between the wealthy and the less wealthy in recent decades (OECD, 2008). Most OECD countries are also increasingly concerned about inequality. The measures and impacts of inequality are highlighted in a range of well-known publications (Wilkinson and Pickett, 2010; Corak, 2013; Stiglitz, 2013, 2015; Dorling, 2014; Piketty, 2014; Rashbrooke, 2014b). Suggestions for the causes of inequality are numerous and varied. While the tax system cannot directly address many of the contributing factors, wealth taxes such as capital gains taxes can assist with the unequal treatment of taxes on income and capital, and taxes such as estate duties or gift duties may help with redistribution of wealth.