Letters: If it helps, don’t call it a tax, call it a tithe
Think of it as a tithe rather than a tax
I am disappointed that both National and Labour (apart from a capital gains tax) have ruled out any new taxes if they are elected in November. I am also disappointed that neither party is brave enough to campaign on a total overhaul of our tax system which currently creates a very uneven distribution of collective wealth.
I suggest that the word “tax”, anathema to some people and politicians, be called a tithe, a community charge, a wellbeing rate or a contribution. This might help make “tax” more acceptable.
Historically, a tithe was one tenth of a person’s annual income or annual produce paid as a tax to support a parish church or clergy. Replace “parish church” with “creaking public hospital system” and a tithe could be immeasurably useful.
Our ACC levy of around 1.75% could also be increased to pay for additional health needs. Australia has a 2% Medicare Health levy over and above taxable income. Those on a low or no income pay a reduced rate or no levy at all and high-income earners pay more if they do not have private health insurance.
No new taxes/tithes/levies means cutting services as is already happening in health and hospital settings. I suspect the current Government would like a user-pays health system.
With one in six New Zealanders living below the poverty line and a substantial additional percentage of low-income working and non-working households hovering around the poverty line (NZ Council of Christian Social Services, 2026 report), how equitable would this be?
As Abraham Lincoln is believed to have said: “You can fool some people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time”.
Sarah Beck, retired psychologist, Devonport.
A woeful state
I am in my 70s and I have watched successive governments leave a legacy where the basics of living – housing, food, medicine, power and water – are unaffordable.
Working long hours or two jobs is often not enough to put food on the table, while companies and corporates make record profits.
Politicians wring their hands in false empathy but are more interested in playing politics than working collaboratively and governing for the good of the country and everyone in it.
They fight and squabble and spread misinformation (a polite word for lies), tinker around the edges of major issues, find new ways to punish the poor, indulge in their favourite fantasies, demonise taxes (a legitimate way of raising government revenue), and throw us lollies to distract us as the environment degrades, our infrastructure crumbles, and our health, education, and social services cannot meet demand.
The political cycle is short and futile. Anything that is done is then undone by the next government. It is a woeful state to be in to have lost faith in our political parties and our political system.
J L Jones, Hobsonville.
Lessons to be learned
The front-page article in the Herald regarding the potential fraudulent voting in the Manurewa Local Board elections (Sep 8) is indeed gutting. A few things struck me about the situation reported on:
- The areas targeted were those where residents are likely to be more transient, thus making it less likely the fraud would be picked up.
- There are obviously more than a few people who don’t bother to vote and so they had no idea their votes were being forged.
- The unacceptable delay in sending papers to those who reported they hadn’t received them.
It’s likely the observations in points one and two would be known by people with knowledge of past voting habits, and the areas best to target. This strongly suggests a specifically researched and targeted approach for the purposes of fraud, which is a criminal act.
I hope there is a very thorough investigation by the police and that if a crime has been committed, the person/people who orchestrated the crime, those who carried out the crime, and those who knowingly benefited from it are identified and prosecuted accordingly.
As a resident of the Manurewa Local Board area, I don’t want to see the same thing happen here as with the Papatoetoe-Ōtara investigation. The residents deserve better.
As for point three, isn’t it time that it’s accepted that postal voting is insufficiently robust to ensure a democratic outcome? I would like to see local board and council elections conducted at the same time as the general election, and that people have to vote in person.
Diana Coleman, Hillpark.
Help with voting
People who have been medically certified as not being capable of making decisions about their healthcare or financial circumstances are still allowed to vote in New Zealand and generally they need help to fill in the form as they now can’t make a decision.
Lesley Baillie, Milford.
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