1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,280 Speaker 1: Look, I'll be honest with you. I'm kind of loath 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: to keep talking about this, but I think Chris Luxen 3 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: is being treated really unfairly on the sale of his apartment, 4 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:09,720 Speaker 1: and because he's been treated so unfairly, it's kind of 5 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: hard to avoid saying something about this. The latest installment 6 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: on this, you will see this in the morning papers today, 7 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: is a series of stories now pointing out that Chris 8 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:19,959 Speaker 1: Luxen would have paid up to seventy thousand dollars in 9 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,119 Speaker 1: tax on the sale of his apartment if it wasn't 10 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: for his government changing the bright line test rules. So 11 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: he bought the apartment in twenty twenty. The bright line 12 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: test back then was five years, and because he has 13 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: sold it within the five years, it should have been 14 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:36,840 Speaker 1: subject to the five year brightline test and he should 15 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: have paid a capital gains tax on it of seventy 16 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. But his government cut the bright line test 17 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: back to two years effect of July this year, so 18 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: he didn't have to pay any tax. The implication of 19 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: that being that, either by design or by luck, he 20 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: has managed to dodge at tax that he actually should 21 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: have paid. Give me a break, I mean, the only 22 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: reason cast your mind back. The only reason that Luxon 23 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: is selling that apartment because we pressured him into moving 24 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: into Premier House. He didn't want to move into Premier House. 25 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: That was obvious, and why should he him? And the 26 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 1: place is famously cold and drafty, And given that this 27 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: guy has been earning megabucks for at least a couple 28 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: of decades, he probably hasn't lived in a house as 29 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,039 Speaker 1: cold as a student flat for a couple of decades. 30 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: Why would he want to start now when he's the 31 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 1: prime minister of the country. But we gave him grief, 32 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: didn't we for not living there and for taking the 33 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,959 Speaker 1: accommodation allowance to live in his apartment instead. And so 34 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: finally in February this year he caved and said, fine, okay, 35 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: I'll move into Premier House. But now that he's moved 36 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: into Premier House, we're not happy about that either, because 37 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:39,959 Speaker 1: now we can see he's making money off his apartment. 38 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: Come on, what is it that we actually want here? 39 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: He now isn't costing the taxpayer on the accommodation allowance anymore. 40 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: He clearly did not change the bright line test so 41 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: he could avoid tax. That was an election promise made 42 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: last year when he already, if you remember, was still 43 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: intending to keep owning his property. So what has he 44 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: done wrong? The absence of fairness in the ongoing media 45 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: reporting on this suggests to me that this is exactly 46 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: what he thinks this is, which is the politics of envy. 47 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: For more from The mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to 48 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: News Talks at B from six am weekdays, or follow 49 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:15,079 Speaker 1: the podcast on iHeartRadio.