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I noted a few problems in Treasury’s staffing in my column a fortnight ago. Among staff whose qualifications are known working as analysts, senior analysts, principal advisors and senior managers, economists are in the minority. Read more

My Insights article, Low Tax Fantasy, on 27 July rebutted the claims that New Zealand was a low-tax country by global standards and that tax is love. The article struck a chord with a number of readers, one of whom said it reminded her of one of Shakespeare’s sonnets about love. Read more

Mohammed Alsahani once had an upholstery business in Damascus. But when civil war broke out in Syria, he and his family were forced to flee. Read more

It’s that time of year again where foodies like me can indulge in Wellington’s best burgers, beer, and if you’re lucky, a degustation or two. That’s right, it’s August already and it’s the first day of Wellington on a Plate (WOAP). Read more

Many of us will remember those gloomy days in late 2008 when the Global Financial Crisis peaked. Stock markets around the world crashed, Lehman Brothers collapsed, and the world’s financial system was on its knees. Read more

“If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion,” said Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw. Or at least that is who the quote is attributed to. Read more

Two contradictory views about tax are common in New Zealand. One is outrage about tax avoidance; the other is denial that tax rates matter. Read more

New Zealand has blazed a trail in many areas – not least in opening up its economy to the rest of the world. In the 1980s reforming Labour governments axed the thicket of protectionist tariffs and subsidies that penalised consumers and cossetted – but ultimately held back – Kiwi farmers. Read more