If we're taxing imputed rent, then I guess the owner-occupier would be considered a kind of non-incorporated business. Does that mean that owner-occupiers could also claim certain residential expenses (repairs, depreciation, etc) against this income, in the same way a business does? If so, I think this would sweeten the deal for many people. Please clarify.
Official response from Gareth Morgan
completed
there are two ways you could apply the tax - tax the whole value of the asset and make interest deductible, or tax the equity only and don’t. The second is simpler.
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Facebook TwitterThanks for the response, but either you didn’t answer the question I asked, or I’m completely misunderstanding something.
According to your tax policy document, “…we need to charge tax on imputed rent each year”. Your response above, however, seems to suggest taxing equity, which according to my limited understanding of the subject is not the same thing. So is this tax intended to be a tax on equity or a tax on imputed rent?