"Progressive taxation and New Zealand": A Wellington Public Lecture by Professor Jim Flynn

Professor Jim Flynn, Emeritus Professor of Political Studies at the University of Otago, will present a public lecture "Progressive taxation in New Zealand" on Friday 11 July 2008, at Connolly Hall, Guilford Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington at 7.30pm.

Professor Flynn, who is Alliance Party spokesperson on finance and taxation, says some of the key aspects of progressive taxation would be the immediate removal of GST on food and the phase out of all GST, and its replacement with a Financial Transactions Tax.

He says "tax cuts" proposed by the National Party would do very little for low to middle income earners, except to cut funding for vital public services such as health and education.

Professor Flynn says the best way to improve incomes is to remove regressive taxes such as GST which hit those on lower incomes hard, and raise the minimum wage to a liveable level of $17 per hour.

Professor Flynn says the first $10 000 of income tax should be free for everyone.

Professor Flynn says a progressive taxation system would pay for all New Zealanders have a decent standard of living which must include access to quality public health care, free education, and affordable housing, food and electricity.

Author of six books, Professor Flynn has combined political and moral philosophy with psychology to clarify problems such as justifying humane ideals, and whether it makes sense to rank races and classes by merit. The findings of his research into increasing IQ levels are known widely as "the Flynn effect."

Professor Flynn has been profiled in the Scientific American, Times of London and The Guardian, and in November 2006 he debated author Charles Murray at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC.

He has stood for the New Zealand Parliament several times as a candidate of the Alliance Party. He is currently the Alliance Party spokesperson for finance and tax.

His research interests include humane ideals and ideological debate; classics of political philosophy; and race, class and IQ.

The public lecture is presented by the Alliance Party.

ENDS

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