The Government established Tax Working Group has come into question by the Green Party.

According to a Green Party press release published on the 21st of October, Dr Russel Norman, Green party co-leader, has said that the government instituted Tax Working Group is “hopelessly compromised” and not an accurate representation of New Zealand society as a whole.

Dr Russel Norma’s objection centers primarily around the panel’s inclusion of John Shewan, a former Westpac Bank advisor. According to Dr Norman “The recent outcome of the High Court case in Auckland involving Westpac shows that members of the group set up to reform the NZ tax system have been actively involved in promoting tax avoidance to assist overseas-owned banks”.

According to the press release, the composition of the Tax Working Group is skewed too heavily in the direction of “those working for corporate interests,” and is in “no way representative of New Zealand society”. He went onto say “I have very real concerns that the Government will be getting a report back from this group later this year that favours the sectors many on this group represent rather than the vast majority of tax paying New Zealanders.”