A comprehensive CGT for New Zealand: "political suicide" or tax policy saviour?

This article considers the case for a comprehensive capital gains tax (CGT) in New Zealand and it examines the, arguably, clichéd claim that the introduction of a CGT would constitute 'political suicide' for any government that sought to introduce it. The research is by way of a comparative study of the political and economic environment that allowed the introduction of a CGT in three other comparable Commonwealth jurisdictions - the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. It is concluded that a CGT for New Zealand is an important tax policy objective and the political costs of introducing it have been overstated.