the tale of JPA and the party for small business

Bit late fronting up with this one, but anyway...

JPA has shocked us all (apparently) by recommending a cut in the corporate tax rate, to make NZ more competitive with Australia.

To those who have been active in the Alliance since before the 2002 split this will come as little surprise. Since the beginning of time it seems JPA has internally advocated for policies that will advantage small businesses, in particular, somewhat regardless of the impact for other groups, eg low paid workers, beneficiaries, etc.

For some odd reason he has this fantasy that small business owners and operators will vote for his Party (whichever he is leading at the time) in droves if he can just make them love him. Sadly the exact people he is appealing to are much more likely to vote for a party that gives them the whole package that they desire, ie National or Act. JPA resisted many of the left-wing policies that the activist base of the Alliance were keen on, in particular in relation to a progressive income tax system, for years and years and years.

Various reactions to JPA's announcement that you may not have already spotted:

- DPF reckons the world is all upside down

- IS claims "Jim Anderton has sold out completely" (you may very well think that but of course I couldn't possibly comment)

-The Alliance states it is still needed and looks forward to the influx of disillusioned Prog members (always nice to get a dig in when you can)

- JH has suspicions about the funding for the tax cut adverts

And for those with a strong opinion on this, there is a poll on the Alliance website asking which change to the tax system you would prefer - corporate tax cut, progressive taxation system, or a cut to the top rate of income tax. Could be interesting to see which right wingers would prefer, of the first and the last.