A couple of weeks ago I suggested the idea of a one percent financial transaction tax for future disasters.
Perhaps we could start this by first applying it to rates, where any GST is a tax on a tax. So if your half yearly rates bill was say, $1,000, instead of the $150 extra GST, the transaction tax would only be $10?
I doubt ratepayers would be unhappy with the above (although I'll bet the politicians would protest) and countrywide, it would probably surprise people just how much might be collected.
Of course there will be opposition, even though it would be for an ultimate good cause.
And guess who it will come from?
The people who couldn't claim it back!
R McGuinness, Tauranga.