PHOTO: Christopher and Amanda Luxon. FILE
Christopher Luxon says he is upfront about owning seven properties and that it doesn’t affect his judgment when National opposes policies like a capital gains tax.
Luxon told Q+A host Jack Tame that he made no apologies for having a “range of investments”. The TV host challenged the National leader on his opposition to introducing a capital gains tax, which would directly affect his existing investments.
“I’m a Kiwi kid who came from a pretty normal background. I worked hard,” he said.
The party leader has declared he owns seven properties, which include a family home in Auckland, an apartment in Wellington, and a bach on Waiheke Island. Four of the seven are declared as investment properties.
Tame asked Luxon: “Is there any MP you can name who owns more houses than you?”
An overwhelming majority of New Zealand’s lawmakers are property owners, with only five MPs having no property ownership interests to declare.
National’s position on housing includes loosening standards for residential landlords, pulling back on the bright line test, and reinstating interest deductibility rules.
Tame asked: “Why shouldn’t other New Zealanders, who want to emulate your success, follow the same incentives you did and pour money into unproductive assets – when you have said that productivity is the biggest problem facing this country?”
Luxon responded: “Individuals make their own decisions around a mix of investments around their own personal interests and their personal assets. That’s what I’ve done.
“What I’ve been really clear with everyone from day one is I’ve been incredibly transparent about it all,” he said.
“If, at any point in time, the Cabinet Office came to me and said there was a conflict of interest, then I would take that advice and do whatever they asked me to do.
“I don’t take 12 times to respond to that mitigation. If there is a real or a perceived conflict, I’d respond to their wishes.”
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