Dunne: Mothball capital gains tax idea once and for all

A capital gains tax would be inefficient and distortionary and is never going to happen, Revenue Minister and UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne said today.

"It's a hoary old chestnut and it's time it was put to rest once and for all - no government is going to bring it in," Mr Dunne said.

"The idea of a general capital gains tax has been around since the 1980s but has never gained any real support.

"As I've consistently said, it is simply not going anywhere and the time has surely come to bury it because no government will ever implement it, so these periodic discussions on it are a waste of time," he said.

Mr Dunne said it would be political suicide for any government to implement, and it was time that "the theorists and ideologues understood that".

"UnitedFuture will have no part of promoting backward-looking, draconian measures - and I certainly will not as Revenue Minister," he said.

Mr Dunne said there were far better ways to address the issue of housing affordability, including the providing of cheaper land close to cities.