\u201cThe Green Party are not joking when they say they are going to tax you even after death with an inheritance tax,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat flies in the face of what most New Zealanders work for through their lives \u2013 to leave something for their children to have a better life than they had had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Act Party leader David Seymour isn’t a fan of the Green Party’s new policies. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray<\/p>\n
The Greens policy<\/a> includes a 33% tax on inheritance or gifts valued above $1 million, although family farms and the family home would be exempt.<\/p>\n The person receiving the inheritance or gift would pay the tax and it\u2019s estimated to hit approximately 1100 people a year. It would make $4.1b over four years.<\/p>\n At the same time, the party would change income tax by introducing a $10,000 tax-free threshold followed by adjustments to the rest of the tax brackets, with a new 45% threshold for income over $160,000.<\/p>\n Seymour claimed the Greens\u2019 policies created a \u201cculture that opposes success\u201d and told people that if they have done well, they are \u201cfair game\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe actually need more success, more billion-dollar companies, more high-paying jobs, more experts and more people prepared to take a risk. <\/p>\n \u201cThe real greed is wanting to go to the ballot box and vote to be given other people\u2019s money at their expense.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that wealth inequality is not a problem \u201cso long as all people have the opportunity to do better\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think about the people who\u2019ve become very wealthy in New Zealand, they\u2019ve all started from nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, Graham Hart was a tow truck driver. The Mowbrays grew up relatively poor in rural Waikato and built a billion-dollar company.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know Rod Drury was not a wealthy guy but he has created a billion-dollar company that succeeds all over the world. We should want more of that success.\u201d<\/p>\n National\u2019s Simeon Brown responded to the Greens\u2019 announcement by claiming the \u201csmorgasbord of new taxes\u201d would help Labour pay for its promises.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the Greens are proposing is economic lunacy,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir tax proposals would be a wrecking ball for economic growth. They would discourage investment, drive away talent and capital and make it harder for businesses to grow, create jobs and lift wages.\u201d<\/p>\n Labour\u2019s Chris Hipkins said his party had been very clear it would only implement its proposed capital gains tax and would not \u201csupport other new taxes like an inheritance tax or a wealth tax\u201d.<\/p>\n