Tax Justice media release
15 May 2011

Tax Justice campaigners are mobilising for a post-Budget push to collect 10,000 more signatures for the Tax Justice petition, Fri-Sun 20-22 May.

“We’re protesting a Budget that will be terrible for working people,” says Vaughan Gunson, Tax Justice campaign coordinator.

“Budget 2011 – like last year’s one, which let’s remember hiked up GST and gave billions of dollars of tax cuts to the rich – is about putting the burden of the economic slump onto ordinary Kiwis,” says Gunson.

“National is delivering what the big corporates want,” says Gunson, “lower taxes and higher profits for them, more tax and less income for the rest of us.”

Tax Justice is campaigning for the opposite to happen: “Our message to Sheriff John Key is a simple one,” says Gunson, “To help the majority of New Zealanders in these tough economic times we need to tax the super-rich.”

“We can do that by introducing a Financial Transaction Tax, or Robin Hood Tax as it’s been dubbed by a popular campaign in the UK.”

Mr Gunson says a small percentage tax on financial transactions would force banks, financial speculators, big corporates, and mega-wealthy individuals to pay a lot more tax.

“We’re aiming to collect 10,000 signatures in the days after the Budget, which will take our national total to 40,000 signatures,” says Gunson.

People wishing to help collect signatures for the Tax Justice petition can contact Vaughan Gunson, Tax Justice campaign coordinator, email svpl@xtra.co.nzor ph/txt 021-0415 082.

The Tax Justice petition requests parliament to: 1. Remove GST from Food; and 2. Tax Financial Speculation. The petition is being presented to parliament in August.

The new Tax Justice cartoon attached to this media release is reproducible in print and online publications. We can send a higher quality image file.

For comment, contact:

Vaughan Gunson
Tax Justice campaign coordinator
021-0415 082
svpl@xtra.co.nz

Kay Murray
Tax Justice spokesperson and Alliance Party co-leader
021-1672 843
ksimmondsmurray@xtra.co.nz