Regular as clockwork, every election year, National pop up with their one-trick election pony, the promise of tax cuts, an eternal mirage that never quite delivers. Here we go again:
Joyce signals low and middle earners’ top rates target for tax cuts
Finance Minister Steven Joyce has signalled that cutting the top tax rate paid by lower and middle income earners is his top priority for tax cuts.
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Surpluses are predicted to rise to $5.4 billion by 2018/19 and, provided they come to pass, that provided options, Joyce said in his fist major speech as finance minister. They were better public services for a growing country, building the infrastructure a growing modern economy needed, paying down debt “as a percentage of gross domestic product” and reducing the tax burden “and in particular the impact of marginal tax rates on lower and middle income earners, when we have the room to do so”. …
Promising to target “lower and middle income earners” is nice spin, but in National’s long-ago cuts what was actually been delivered for these groups did not match the promises, the befits went disproportionately to the rich. But more fundamentally, NZ faces far too many challenges to be diving in to tax cuts now. Everyone knows it, even Bill English:
Bill English gives financial update, says reducing debt and earthquake recovery more important than tax cuts
Infrastructure spending, rather than tax cuts, has taken priority in Finance Minister Bill English’s last time showing off the Government’s books.
Despite a forecast surplus of $473 million for the current financial year, rising to $8.5 billion in 2020/21, English – all but confirmed as New Zealand’s next prime minister – says reducing debt and tackling the costs of the Kaikoura earthquake, are higher priorities than reducing tax rates. …
Flashing the tax cut mirage yet again is just cynical election year politics from National.
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