Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union will be among official campaign supporters attending the handover of the Tax Justice petition at Parliament Buildings tomorrow Tuesday 16 August 2011.

The Tax Justice campaign has collected nearly 40 000 signatures for its petition to remove GST from food and introduce a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT).

Maritime Union General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the union was the first to officially back the Tax Justice campaign, but has been joined by several other major unions.

He says the goal of taking GST off food is a urgent necessity for the wellbeing of New Zealand workers and families.

“GST was always a bad tax, it was bad when it was introduced in the 1980s and it has been made worse when it was put up to 15% by John Key.”

Mr Fleetwood says that with inflation running ahead of wage increases, and major hikes in the cost of basics like food, there needs to be some relief for hard pressed working New Zealanders.

“We have seen recent reports that the wealth of a tiny minority of the richest New Zealanders has surged ahead in the last few years, while the majority are going backwards.”

Mr Fleetwood says the union is supportive of a financial transactions tax that would provide the income to remove GST on food.

He says that around the world, people are questioning why major finance institutions have been bailed out by taxpayers money, while the majority of workers are under attack from unemployment, low wages and so-called “austerity measures.”

“Where is the austerity for the very rich?”

“What the tax justice campaign is about is taking the tax burden off those who are struggling to feed their children and putting it back on those who can afford to pay.”

Mr Fleetwood says the Maritime Union congratulates the Tax Justice campaign for running a successful grassroots campaign to build support for a fairer tax system.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says today’s budget is an attack on working class New Zealanders.

Maritime Union General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the increase in GST to 15% was taking money from the pockets of workers to pay for tax cuts for people like John Key, who had so much money they would have trouble knowing what to do with it.

He says rather than increasing GST it would be easier for workers just to hand over a $5 note every time they saw someone walk past in an expensive suit, because this was the actual effect of the GST increase.

“It is a wealth transfer from low to middle income earners to the wealthy.”

GST was a regressive tax that would hit struggling New Zealand families hard.

Mr Fleetwood says that a major problem for New Zealand is growing inequality of wealth.

Inequality leads to social breakdown and long term economic and social problems, as international research has shown, and National’s budget was making inequality worse.

He says the idea promoted by John Key that only high income earners contributed to New Zealand’s economy and society was both offensive and wrong.

“If we are at the stage where New Zealand is being held hostage by a tiny minority of the super rich, maybe it is time to question whether we still live in a democracy?”

Mr Fleetwood says that the international evidence shows that excessive wealth was being accumulated by a few at the top end of the wealth scale, while the majority of workers were squeezed by rising costs and static incomes.

“John Key is rewarding the big business, finance sector CEO types who are the backers of the National Government, whose greed knows no limits.”

He says the obsession with tax cuts was leading New Zealand down a dead end road as tax was essential to pay for hospitals, schools, infrastructure and other vital public goods.

However the tax burden was increasingly falling on low to middle income earners rather than the wealthy, which was the wrong way around.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says any rises in GST would hurt workers.

Maritime Union General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says a proposed rise of GST to 15% suggested this afternoon by the Prime Minister would be bad for the majority of New Zealanders.

He says that GST hits ordinary workers hard, and any increase would be used to subsidize income tax cuts for the wealthy.

“Any rise in GST will create more inequality, a bigger gap in wealth and will hurt the growing number of working poor in New Zealand trapped in low income and casual jobs.”

Mr Fleetwood says there seems to be little of substance in the Prime Minister’s economic statement about the serious increase in the number of unemployed people, especially young people.

ENDS

For more information, contact Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood on 021364649

The Council of Trade Union says a proposal to increase in GST would hit low income earners hard.