Troy Bowker made his opinions about a potential capital gains tax well known this year.
The Hawke’s Bay-born Bowker established Caniwi Capital Partners in 2008 after 11 years as an investment banker in London and New York.
He said if the government managed to push through the recommendations of the Tax Working Group, the 450,000 or so small business owners in this country would be hit with massive compliance costs. Bowker said that the group’s proposal to have every business in New Zealand to be valued by a professional valuation expert all on the same day was “ludicrously impractical, if not impossible.”
Lucky for him that the government rejected the proposal.
His opposition to such a tax makes sense considering Caniwi Capital has built up a property empire worth $300 million. It also has goals of building its private equity investment portfolio to a value of $100 million within the next year. Its interests also span broadband satellite operators and petroleum equipment manufacturers.
Bowker is executive chairman of the Caniwi Group, which is also a 12.5% shareholder of the Super Rugby franchise, the Hurricanes.
2018: $85 million