Should Whanganui's wealthy be taxed more. Made with funding from NZ On Air.
Local Focus asked Whanganui's National, Labour and Green candidates for their views on taxing the wealthy much more to help lift others out of poverty. It's a major plank of the Greens' tax policy but Labour and National are less keen on the idea.
"I understand the thought behind it,"Labour's Steph Lewis said. "But I'm also conscious that people aspire to be among the wealthy, so to some people, it feels a bit like you're taxing their aspirations and their future dreams."
National MP Harete Hipango was more equivocal.
"The focus is not on increasing tax for the wealthy," she said. "It's about building businesses, building opportunity, not about taxing people who work and earn hard."
Naturally Green candidate Alan Clay backed the idea and explains the benefits in this Local Focus video.
Also standing in the Whanganui electorate: • Jonathan Marshall for the New Conservatives • Heather Marion Smith for Social Credit • Charlotte Weber for Advance NZ • and Hillary Kieft as an independent
