Post by Kiwi Frontline on Sept 18, 2016 9:23:20 GMT 12
Dear Editor, (Sent to the Sunday Star Times 19/6/16)
I read with interest your article on laws surrounding charities exempt from tax.
In 2001, Michael Cullen released a document "Tax and Charities" - "to make trading operations owned by charities subject to income tax in the same way as other businesses”.
Until then, an entity wishing consideration to be charitable for tax purposes had to meet the common-law requirements of a charity – a "public benefit test" to ensure a charity had been set up to provide a genuine benefit to the wider community, and not a private benefit to individuals.
It included details of their personal relationships to ensure there were no blood ties, nor contractual arrangements.
Since Maori tribal organisations are based on blood ties they were unable to register for charitable status. However, the Labour government lobbied intensively to change the law enabling them to gain charitable status.
Several tribes are amongst the country’s wealthiest corporations and pay no tax at all on any of their New Zealand businesses, simply because they are registered as charities.
Perhaps its time we started calling for the taxing of the trading operations of these large corporations – as proposed fifteen years ago by Michael Cullen!
R B
Tauranga
Dear Editor, (Sent to the Wanganui Chronicle 20/5/16)
Re Chester Borrows article may 20, “Bandwagons gain momentum”. It’s time for Chester to go, He says the catchcry is that the government is about to sign away to Maori the ownership of water in New Zealand. The cunning thing the government is doing is to allow Councils to give the water control to Maori. So Chester your government is still allowing this to happen.
You say that the Treaty of Waitangi has assured rights over natural resources for over 150 years, this is absolute rubbish it doesn’t say that in the treaty at all.
By Don Brash saying that you’ll put race relations back about 40 years is right because 40 years ago we never had government forced racism put upon us.
You talk about Maori wards, for what reason? You don’t have wards for Moriori, Waitaha, Orientals, and Celtic wards for these people who were here well before any Maori arrival. You are suppose to run the country for “all the people of New Zealand” as it says in the treaty. If you our unable to do this then it is about time you stood down as been an MP.
I B
Wanganui
I read with interest your article on laws surrounding charities exempt from tax.
In 2001, Michael Cullen released a document "Tax and Charities" - "to make trading operations owned by charities subject to income tax in the same way as other businesses”.
Until then, an entity wishing consideration to be charitable for tax purposes had to meet the common-law requirements of a charity – a "public benefit test" to ensure a charity had been set up to provide a genuine benefit to the wider community, and not a private benefit to individuals.
It included details of their personal relationships to ensure there were no blood ties, nor contractual arrangements.
Since Maori tribal organisations are based on blood ties they were unable to register for charitable status. However, the Labour government lobbied intensively to change the law enabling them to gain charitable status.
Several tribes are amongst the country’s wealthiest corporations and pay no tax at all on any of their New Zealand businesses, simply because they are registered as charities.
Perhaps its time we started calling for the taxing of the trading operations of these large corporations – as proposed fifteen years ago by Michael Cullen!
R B
Tauranga
Dear Editor, (Sent to the Wanganui Chronicle 20/5/16)
Re Chester Borrows article may 20, “Bandwagons gain momentum”. It’s time for Chester to go, He says the catchcry is that the government is about to sign away to Maori the ownership of water in New Zealand. The cunning thing the government is doing is to allow Councils to give the water control to Maori. So Chester your government is still allowing this to happen.
You say that the Treaty of Waitangi has assured rights over natural resources for over 150 years, this is absolute rubbish it doesn’t say that in the treaty at all.
By Don Brash saying that you’ll put race relations back about 40 years is right because 40 years ago we never had government forced racism put upon us.
You talk about Maori wards, for what reason? You don’t have wards for Moriori, Waitaha, Orientals, and Celtic wards for these people who were here well before any Maori arrival. You are suppose to run the country for “all the people of New Zealand” as it says in the treaty. If you our unable to do this then it is about time you stood down as been an MP.
I B
Wanganui