Labor minister dismisses New Zealand Prime Minister swipe over CGT
Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth has dismissed criticism of Australia’s capital gains tax after New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon ostentatiously claimed it was a “devastating tax” he would never introduce.
The New Zealand National Party leader was in Noosa on Saturday for the annual meeting with Anthony Albanese.
Asked about CGT, Mr Luxon said: “In the New Zealand domestic context, there has been a long-standing debate going back over 10 years about the merits of introducing CGT.
“We are in a recovery phase and we think introducing CGT to New Zealand now would be devastating to our economy.”
New Zealand’s Prime Minister declined to comment on Australia’s changes to CGT taxes (a reduction that Labor has pledged to reduce), citing differences between the two countries’ economies.
That sentiment was echoed by Ms Rishworth on Sunday when she was grilled on Mr Luxon’s comments.
“We have two different countries with two different tax systems,” he told Sky News.
“Let’s be really clear, New Zealand has a different tax system than ours.
“The capital gains tax, as we’ve discussed, has been in our country for a very long time. There have been changes along the way, and we’re looking at capital gains and changing that to rebalance it and make it more equitable.”
“But frankly, I don’t think you can compare apples to oranges when you’re talking about different tax systems and different countries.”
Ms Rishworth said the meeting between the two prime ministers was “warm” and showed good relations with “our very close neighbour” New Zealand.
“But I don’t think it was a shot across the bow,” he said.
“I think both leaders operate with a completely different tax system in their countries.”
Speaking later, shadow treasurer Tim Wilson said Mr Luxon “came here basically to plunder the prosperity of Australia’s future”.
“And Anthony Albanese delivered it on a platter,” he said.
The Albanian government faced harsh backlash from the Coalition over changes to the capital gains tax and negative incentive incentives.
The coalition has vowed to fight the measures in the Senate, where Labor will need support to pass the legislation, and to repeal them if elected in 2028.
