■ As a child 70-plus years ago, I loved fables such as The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Tortoise and the Hare, The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs and many others.

They were written to instill in us values such as honesty, kindness, thrift, humility, the danger of greed, the power of perseverance and so on, writes

These days, I see many political fables on social media and, almost always, they are bereft of the moral values of yesteryear.

They are often dishonest, unkind, shallow, envious and provoke hate and resentment.

One of these modern social media fables is often trotted out by lefties in response to the coalition Government repealing a grossly unfair tax law, which penalised landlords and landlords alone.

I have written about this three or four or five times in the Beacon the past few years.

It annoys me to see the issue popping up time and again by those who irrationally and shamelessly call the law change a $3 billion tax break for landlords.

The latest example is from Christchurch Labour MP, Reuben Davidson, who lashed out, with his own irrational landlord tax break quip in reaction to questions raised by Michael Laws on The Platform recently.

They were discussing Labour leader Chris Hipkins’ failure to recall and act on expert advice he received during the Covid years regarding a second vaccination for school pupils.

Let’s be clear about the tax law I am talking about.

It was imposed by Labour in 2021 to make landlords pay more tax, and as an attempt to drive down house prices. It was repealed by National in 2023 because it was discriminatory and unfair, and also because it had the unintended consequence of increasing rents.

This highly selective law removed the right of landlords to claim interest as a business cost when working out their taxable income. That meant landlords were penalised and, therefore, paid more tax proportionately than other businesses.

Describing the removal of the tax penalty as a landlord tax break is either dishonesty or ignorance. It suggests landlords were being given special treatment and lavished with a $3 billion hand-out. They were not. That $3 billion estimate is largely the tax income the Government will lose over four years from the removal of the penalty.

Despite that Labour has persisted with its claim and may still bring back the penalty if returned to Government. It is considering a 50 percent penalty rather than the 100 percent penalty imposed in 2021. Doesn’t that mean Labour now considers the law was too extreme in the first place?

I suggest Labour and its supporters read the fables, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and Pinocchio, and digest their themes of trust and honesty.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf might encourage Labour leader Chris Hipkins to think more about his Covid memory lapses, with the moral of the fable being once trust is lost it is not regained.

While I am on the subject of fables and their messages, I have one for Whakatāne District Council – The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs.

I doubt whether our ratepayer goose can take any more of the council’s mistreatment.