The graph, from Club Troppo, shows the amount of inequality reduction due to transfers (blue) and direct taxes (red) in OECD countries. In NZ, the amount of inequality reduction done through the government is around the OECD mean and median. (Of course, we have a lot of inequality to reduce in the first place.) Our direct taxes are actually quite progressive, though GST and the lack of a capital gains tax makes taxation as a whole flat. On the other hand, many countries use transfers more heavily than we do.

The kind of leftism I prefer supports as the first-order problem an increase in the size and scope of government. Essentially that means more tax, at the right time. The efficiency and progressivity of the tax system also matter, but they're second-order concerns. If National's first-term tax changes had been implemented some time other than the aftermath of a financial crisis, and if they had truly been revenue-neutral (cue laugh track), I would've only been slightly grumpy about their regressive structure. Income taxes do have *some* drag, so I'd prefer a tax on capital gains (or capital, or just land), but really, the point is to be prepared to hike taxes one way or another once we're out of stagnation.