Public equity and tax-benefit reform

Abstract

In this report Keith Rankin, economist at Unitec Institute of Technology, outlines an alternative approach to public accounting, deriving from principles of public equity. He argues for reframing our current system of taxes and benefits as a system of pooling and distributing revenues attributable to public capitals, such as the intellectual and social capital that have built up over time. This reframing process helps us to see that a more equitable system of public revenue distribution can be developed, in stages, as detailed in this report. Keith shows that, at present, a 33 percent income tax can fund a universal payment of $175 per week to every adult meeting economic citizenship criteria.

Keith’s previous work on this topic has been published in Social Policy Journal of New Zealand (1997, 1998), Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare (2016), and in multi‑authored books Basic Income Worldwide: Horizons of Reform (2012) and Basic Income in Australia and New Zealand (2016). .