Labour's proposed Capital Gains Tax is not just for the rich, who may well deserve such a tax, its net will encompass every NZ worker.

I refer to Kiwisaver and other saving schemes, including using businesses and farms to provide for retirement.

While Kiwisavers can elect to join an income-only fund, most will quite rightly belong to growth funds. Growth is a nice word for capital gain.

Growth of the funds will be impeded by a CGT, which affects the final sum on retirement.
The Labour Party leader says withdrawals from Kiwisaver won't be subject to this new tax.

That's true - because the fund itself will have paid its CGT many years, in fact in some cases, decades earlier.This shows how inhibiting CGT can be, because people do switch investment-type savings at various life stages.

The downsides of CGT for the average Kiwi is far greater than the upside of collecting a new tax on windfall capital gains. And how much more so with Labour's compulsory Kiwisaver?

B Capamagian, Tauranga City.