New Zealand tax reform—where to next?

Information about the 2009 Tax Policy Colloquium.

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, supported by a number of government departments and private sector organisations, brought together leading tax experts in a major colloquium in February 2009 to share and debate the latest thinking around New Zealand’s tax policy.

The colloquium assessed the prospects for medium-term tax reform in New Zealand by reviewing the merits and limitations of the current tax system in the light of national and global developments and lessons from the latest tax research.

Sessions at the two-day colloquium considered:

• the impacts of taxes on firms’ investment decisions, productivity and growth performance
• company tax, savings and investment
• international tax and dual income tax systems
• taxes and the labour market
• taxes and income distribution
• the way forward for tax reform in New Zealand.

Speakers

• Rosanne Altshuler, Rutgers University
• John Creedy, The University of Melbourne
• Jane Gravelle, Congressional Research Service
• Christopher Heady, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development
• Guyonne Kalb, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research
• Greg J. Smith, Australian Catholic University, Review Panel “Australia’s Future Tax System”
• Peter Birch Sørensen, University of Copenhagen
• Matt Benge, Inland Revenue
• Peter Conway, New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
• Norman Gemmell, The Treasury
• Rob McLeod, Business Roundtable
• Robin Oliver, Inland Revenue
• Phil O’Reilly, Business NZ
• David Patterson, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Lawyers
• John Shewan, PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Keith Taylor, Inland Revenue
• David White, Victoria University of Wellington.