16 Jul 2011

Capital gains tax criticism misleading, says Labour

5:08 am on 16 July 2011

The Labour Party has accused the Government of misleading the public about Labour's capital gains tax policy.

Finance Minister Bill English says the policy will result in share traders paying less tax. He says that under current tax law, share and property traders pay either 28% or 33% on their profits but their tax will halve under the Labour policy.

However, Labour's finance spokesperson David Cunliffe says Mr English is wrong.

He says Labour's Capital Gains Tax will apply if someone is not trading.

"If they are trading they will pay the high rate they are currently on, if they aren't trading and currently paying zero, under our plan they will pay 15%, so it will either be the same or go up," he says.