As the new Government puts the finishing touches to this month’s Budget, they will undoubtedly have had their hands full dealing with the economic mess that Labour created.
Not only was Labour a grossly incompetent manager of the economy, but they also set out to sabotage the new administration’s ability to balance the budget and deliver on their election promises.
The Budget Policy Statement released by Treasury outlines the problem:
“The previous Government set a $3.5 billion operating allowance for Budget 2024 but pre-committed around two-thirds of this allowance ahead of time.
“The previous Government also left a number of initiatives with only time-limited, and expiring, funding. The extent of this time-limited funding is a major challenge for the Budget. For example, decisions were made in 2022 to provide additional funding for Pharmac to purchase new medicines and widen access to already funded medicines, but this funding stops on 30 June 2024. Making this and other initiatives time-limited made the future fiscal track look better but left any incoming government with difficult choices. Put together, the cost of pre-commitments and extending time-limited funding exceeds the previous Government’s operating allowance for Budget 2024.”
The report identifies a significant fall in economic growth last year as the cost-of-living crisis bit, but it also attributes some of the cause to an on-going decline in productivity.
While New Zealanders generally work longer hours than most of our competitors, we rank as one of the least productive nations in terms of the value of the goods we produce compared to the cost of labour.
While many factors influence a country’s productivity, the regulatory burden plays a significant role. Instead of clearing away the mountains of mind-numbing regulations and red tape that hold up progress and deter investment, the Ardern-Hipkins Government spent six years creating more.
It started not long after Jacinda Ardern became Prime Minister: “We have decided to try something no other country has done before and embed Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals into everything we do…”
From mandatory climate reporting to the identity politics objectives of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to He Puapua and empowering the tribal elite, Labour’s social justice agenda has been a significant distraction for both the public and private sectors.
There’s also been a massive expansion of the Wellington bureaucracy, increasing by almost 20,000 from 46,000 when Labour took office to 65,000. With the average public service salary now $97,200, this not only represents a major direct and indirect cost, but with many of those new staff employed to advance Labour’s political agenda, they would have obstructed productivity instead of enhancing it.
With activists already dominating the media and now embedded in virtually every avenue of government, including the judiciary, education, local government, and tertiary institutions, the obstacles the new Government faces as it introduces its Budget reforms, should not be under-estimated.
As a result of the uncertainty that’s been created, many Kiwis have put their good ideas on the back burner and are either leaving the country or waiting to see what difference the new Government will make before deciding whether to go – or stay and invest.
More than anything, the Coalition Government now needs to sweep aside Labour’s influence and signal its commitment to freeing up the country for growth. By removing the roadblocks to progress, and keeping out of the way, the new Government could create the environment for new ideas to flourish, leading to more jobs, higher living standards and better opportunities for everyone.
As the Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman explained, “A free society releases the energies and abilities of people to pursue their own objectives. Freedom means diversity but also mobility. It preserves the opportunity for today’s disadvantaged to become tomorrow’s privileged and, in the process, enables everyone, from top to bottom, to enjoy a fuller and richer life”.
Looking ahead, it’s important to remember that sometimes all that’s needed to transform a country is one good idea.
Take the case of the drug semaglutide. Developed by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk to help control blood sugar, it is taking the world by storm.
Not only does the drug regulate blood glucose levels, which helps to reduce the symptoms of type-2 diabetes, but it also leads to weight loss, and now, they are discovering, it reduces the risk of heart failure in obese patients.
Sold as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss, the business has become Europe’s most valuable listed company, with a market capitalisation that is now greater than the Danish economy.
For Denmark, a small country with 5.9 million people, Novo Nordisk has transformed their future, helping the country to avoid a recession, and keeping interest rates low.
So, the big question for the National-led Coalition is whether they have a visionary plan for growth.
History provides some remarkable examples of transformational change.
Following the Second World War both Germany and Britain found themselves mired in economic crisis.
In 1948, West Germany’s Economics Minister Ludwig Erhardt introduced sweeping reforms. Virtually overnight, the bureaucracy was curtailed, taxes were flattened, and the country was transformed into a free market economy.
To encourage hard work, tax on earnings from hours worked over 40 hours a week was abolished, and to incentivise exports, taxes on all profits earned through exports, were eliminated.
Released from the shackles of an overbearing bureaucracy and excessive taxation, innovation flourished, productivity soared, and exports skyrocketed. The country prospered, and Germany became one of the world’s strongest economies.
Meanwhile, after the war, Britain stagnated, until Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979 promising to restore a culture of entrepreneurship: “I came to office with one deliberate intent: to change Britain from a dependent to a self-reliant society – from a give-it-to-me, to a do-it-yourself nation. A get-up-and-go, instead of a sit-back-and-wait-for-it Britain.”
Her reforms, which embraced the virtues of freedom, lower taxes, and less regulation, reinvigorated the British economy.
Singapore was a different story. A tiny third-world island nation, it’s only natural resource was its people. With visionary leadership, Lee Kuan Yew embarked on a transformational journey in the fifties that focussed on education – to provide every citizen with a pathway to employment and to ensure that ‘no-one was left behind’, exports to build a strong economic base, and a contributory savings scheme to provide security in retirement along with healthcare, and housing. With low taxes, a limited government, and a relentless focus on excellence, Singapore has prospered into a world economic leader.
One of the most remarkable aspects of Singapore’s success was their far-sighted approach to the looming problems associated with an aging population. Through their contributory savings scheme, every retiree can look forward to prosperity in old age. This is in sharp contrast to the situation faced in many countries, including New Zealand.
Our numbers tell the story. As the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, the number of people aged 65 and older is growing rapidly. It doubled between 1990 and 2020, to reach almost 800,000. The number is projected to double again by 2056, growing to over 2 million by 2073. At that stage, there will be just two workers for every retiree, compared to around four today.
In its long-term forecasts, Treasury predicts that if we stay on the current path we are on, we are heading towards bankruptcy.
In this week’s NZCPR Guest Commentary, the former Labour Finance Minister and ACT Party Founder, Sir Roger Douglas, outlines the problem:
“This article calls on all New Zealanders to be clear-eyed about the state of social services, particularly health, education, welfare, and superannuation, and to acknowledge that without major changes the system will inevitably collapse under its own weight. No government has had the courage to face up to the fundamental structural flaws of our present system. This lack of courage is an abdication of duty. Putting off the necessary measures to avert that collapse is far from compassionate. It is mortgaging our children’s future beyond their ability to repay it. (Our existing unfunded social liabilities for super and health exceed one trillion dollars)
“My objective in writing the article is three-fold: Firstly, to warn the public about the coming tsunami of deficits, or tax increases and benefit cuts, as our super and healthcare obligations for the growing number of retirees come due. Secondly, to look at the solutions suggested by Treasury and our political parties to these problems and to explain why they are insufficient or dangerous. And finally, to provide a workable plan for reform, that will restore New Zealand’s solvency and ensure security for New Zealanders.”
Sir Roger explains that for over 50 years he has been questioning the approach to superannuation taken in this country, which sees many New Zealanders retiring after 40 years of working hard and paying taxes with little to show for it except dependency on the government for a small pension in their old age.
In 1972 he developed a Private Members Bill to turn this situation around, by providing New Zealanders with a contributory super savings scheme that would have enabled workers to accumulate a million dollars plus in their retirement funds.
In 1974, the Kirk Labour Government introduced the New Zealand Superannuation Scheme, based on Sir Roger’s concept. If it had been allowed to continue, instead of being axed by the newly elected Prime Minister Robert Muldoon in 1975, like Singapore’s contributory scheme, it would have transformed our economic future.
In a Herald article in 2007, Investment Analyst Brian Gaynor estimated the scheme would have turned New Zealand into an ‘Antipodean Tiger’ – the envy of the rest of the world: “We would have a current account surplus, one of the lowest interest-rate structures in the world and would probably rank as one of the top five OECD economies. Most New Zealanders would face a comfortable retirement and be the envy of their Australian peers. The Government would have a substantial Budget surplus and we would have one of the best educational and healthcare systems in the world.”
In 2014 Infometrics estimated that had the scheme been retained, it would have been worth almost $300 billion, which at that time was equivalent to more than the combined value of the New Zealand Super Fund, Kiwisaver, and the New Zealand Stock Exchange!
And in 2021, an article in Stuff claimed, “Few economists would disagree that Robert Muldoon’s decision to cancel the fledgling New Zealand Superannuation Scheme was probably the worst financial decision ever made. Why? Because had it continued, New Zealand would now be one of the richest countries in the world… we would have at least $500 billion saved in our own individual retirement accounts.”
Instead of looking forward to a bright future, Sir Roger warns that if we stay on the current path, relying on pay-as-you-go super, New Zealand will face financial ruin:
“According to Treasury, those policies are leading New Zealand towards a fiscal deficit of 13.3% of GDP in 2061, which, if it was allowed to get to that, would send the country into bankruptcy. Many New Zealand politicians have known, this outcome was inevitable given the policies they were following, yet they have continued to follow the same course they were on.”
There is no escaping the reality that as a country we are now failing while others are succeeding. Labour has accelerated our failure.
This is the challenge facing the Coalition. They not only have to clean up an economic mess, but they need to turn around the culture created by Labour that denigrates success instead of applauding it.
Most importantly, they must harness the entrepreneurialism, energy, and expertise of Kiwis wanting to build a better future for themselves and their families – because that is the key to our success.
The Budget will also provide us with a hint as to whether the Coalition intends being “revolutionary” enough to reverse our decades of decline.
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THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
*Do you agree with the Coalition that tax cuts will be good for the country?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| They are not sufficiently significant for low to middle income earners to keep pace with inflationary living costs & I doubt for those who receive beneficial cuts that they will give back to society in part or whole. | Christina |
| Something back to those that are actually at work and paying tax rather than putting their hand out! | Dick |
| I don’t think that tax cuts should come into play this year. We need a steady as we go policy and to look at the next cycle as to whether yes or no for Tax cuts. We need investment in so many areas of urgency right now to sort out the mess that the labour Party and their friends have put us into. We need to eliminate as much inflationary pressure as is possible otherwise we will find it almost impossible to recover from this country’s downward spiral. | Garry. |
| especially families. | Rod |
| National and Labor both caused inflation which lowered the value of money and tax cuts would be a method of correcting the imbalance. The trouble with doing that is governments won’t reduce their spending so will introduce different tax;’s, like capital Gains Tax,to make up their loss rather than change policies to benefit taxpayers. | Rex |
| I don’t believe the country can afford the tax cuts at the present time | Chris |
| Not in the long run. Too little being done. The Tax rate needs to be lowered across the board. | C T |
| We need to be Country that rewards hard work not punish it. Let’s teach our citizens to fish. | Ken |
| yes and no. The better question to be asked “is the current taxation system fit for purpose.” It clearly is not and has not been so for a long time. Successive governments have had the opportunities to address all manner of inequities but have not had the balls to do any thing but tinker around at the edges whilst making all sorts of lame excuses for not addressing the issue. All for the sake of keepng their bums in their warm seats and their influential lobbyists in their corner. | Gary |
| Targeted tax cuts to research and development, also reward for better output by workers will help turn around our dismal slide into poverty created by labour | Stanley |
| More to spend or invest – has to be good for the economy. | Mark |
| In the US tax cuts gave their economy no more that a short boost before growth again languished. | Colin |
| Not only will tax cuts be beneficial, they are mandatory. Lower taxes will lead to increased investment in assets which will increase productivity. No country in the history of the world has taxed itself into prosperity, | Peter |
| They also HAVE to reduce the amount of Beuarocrats to workable figures and curtail their income. | Peter |
| 100% yes. Stop the billion dollar Iwi gravy train now. Dont forget to vote on Hobsons Choice to get rid of the waitangi tribunral money pit.Imagine al the money going to health, education, public transport, roading etc instead of the greedy maori tribes and corporations that dont pay tax. | Kevan |
| Yes, better to keep more of the money you have earned rather than get govt top ups. Also saves on govt workers to administer. | Allan |
| The argument is always put forward that more money in circulation is inflationary. This is only true if that extra money is chasing the same amount of goods. The major cause of our current financial woes, is we now, and have for sometime, had a service economy, instead of a productive economy. This has a lot to do with the reforms of the eighties, but was largely driven by the power of the Trade Unions, with their short sightedness that led to uneconomic production in this once great country of ours. Sacking the thousands of parasites that we call bureaucrats without providing jobs in productive industry would solve nothing at all. SOLUTION: ignore the communist inspired Left, which is guided by the Maori & Greens, and start utilising our natural resources such as wool, minerals & timber. In other words, replace jobs that cost money, with jobs that make money. | A.G.R |
| In order to get the Economy moving again after the last dystopian Clown show Government !! | Geoff |
| But not now | Anthony |
| Enabling people to keep more of their money and make their own choices about how their money is used should of course be of benefit to both the money earner and the economy BUT there is a caveat, the people need to be well educated so they use their money wisely, including by saving/investing some of it. Unfortunately in NZ, the majority of the population is under educated and not motivated to save or invest, spending is nothing more than rampant consumerism while waiting for someone else to provide them the wealth they crave. | Steve |
| where will the money for health, education , etc come from if we have tax cuts. I do not trust the Coalition anymore. they have non stop lied to us. | Marie |
| Yes, but real reform of the tax/social welfare ‘system’ is required to reduce dependence on the state and for the national economy to flourish long term. | Francis |
| They are a necessary minimum | Tony |
| Like Auckland rates, we need to stop funding fairy land wants and stay with actual needs | Ken |
| Yes, tax cuts have always been good for the population as long as the money is realised from the many useless area’s of expenditure set up by the former labor govt, fat and bloated public services is a great place to start as well as the fat, bloated and no longer fit for purpose treaty industry and the maori wonderfulness industry. Many, many millions of dollars in savings could be realized from these area’s and others similar | Flip |
| Yes not hard to work out | LB |
| But it’s a boost for some who will really benefit from them. Nats campaigned on this so let’s get them out the way. | Nigel |
| Yes. The Govt needs to provide incentives to increase our exports so we raise the Countries Income and the Tax cuts will raise the living standards. | Noel |
| It depends on what else is cut as a result | Perce |
| reduced taxes & reduced Govt, spending will result in higher GDP & more wealth. A rising tide floats all boats. | Bruce |
| Do I agree that the government should reduce it’s income? That is the question you ask. I would need more information from government as to it’s intent and the prognosis for the future wellbeing of this country if they carried it out, before I could give an informed view of the wisdom of such a move. It seems to be foolhardy but perhaps there is some wisdom that we haven’t been informed of. I would fear for the ongoing future of the superannuation scheme which surely could not survive unless there are some massive windfalls in forecast. The benefit that might be intended is that such a move could lead to increased investment and production leading to increased foreign earnings but where’s the evidence? | terrence |
| tax is legalised theft | Pattie |
| About time especially the tax rate should be adjusted down in line with the wage increases.. | Rob |
| Which are the incentives to work harder ?? | Henk |
| there so many examples of this being helpful to the economy | david |
| I would like to see a universal tax so that it is a lot fairer and no one gets away with not paying tax or not paying their share. W e cannot afford tax cuts | Barbara |
| The bracket creep tax increases are totally dishonest and must be stopped. An adjustment, not a tax cut! | Willy |
| We need people working and paying taxes. We do not need taxpayer funded social housing. We need working taxpayers able to fund there way into a house. | steven |
| Definately | Barbara |
| Labour and their academics mates should NEVER be allowed to run our country ever again, hardly any of them have ever held down a proper job, they simply haven’t got a clue, economical ignoramuses. | Merryl |
| We need to spend very carefully, practice thrift as the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. | Gavin |
| Taxes should be cut and replaced by a compulsory retirement savings scheme. This would be contrary to socialist ideology because they (socialists) believe retirees should all receive the same government pension. Those who won’t save should not get away with it. And so-called unemployed “beneficiaries” should not qualify for pensions. | Peter |
| For all the reasons given in your aticle. | Hugh |
| Stop the freeby handouts and concentrate on the essentials | Anthony |
| More money avaiable for people to spend | Arthur |
| And bring back a contributing portable super scheme so that everybody builds their own retirement fund. | Jim |
| Past experience would suggest that such initiatives by Governments are really just shuffling the deck .. already significant increases in Motor vehicle licencing costs are proposed and more of this type of thing will follow. Anything extra that might have wound up in the hands of taxpayers will simply be siphoned off elsewhere with no net benefits to anyone | Rob |
| Yes,Tax Cuts are very good for the Country | clive |
| Yes when we have over a $1 ADDED TO EVERY Lt OF FUEL , they kept sneaking extra cents onto it for to long | colin |
| Yes, but only if the Govt. introduces policies to accelerate productivity – capital deepening (increasing the ratio of capital to labour) – to increase GDP per hour worked. We can’t spend our way to prosperity without producing the added value (per capita) to fund the expenditures. | Ralph |
| They just should be Dropped to 10% Transaction Tax | Greg |
| Every little bit helps. | Murray |
| Sir Roger is a largely unappreciated national treasure | Kevin |
| Tax is simply a wealth transfer mechanism where we take from one part of society and give to another. We need to reduce tax to stimulate the economy. | gavin |
| Well as inflation (stealth tax) is government policy, they had better cut tax to off set the hardship they are deliberately causing.. Paying no tax, which is really just legalized theft would be better still . | neil |
| We must continue to attract investment into profitable enterprise so that the Govt can receive taxation receipts to fund Govt expenditures. Lower taxes is an incentive for people to invest . Increasing taxes will have the opposite affect and that will reduce tax from buisness profits, wages and salaries et al | greg |
| For the morale at least. | Pamela |
| Absolutely | David |
| It will encourage entrepreneurship and keep people in NZ. | John |
| Hopefully most people will now understand that printing money, as beloved by Jacinda & Grant only leads to long lasting inflation & recession. However to improve productivity & grow the country’s wealth taxing we need to incentives people that working harder is a worthwhile, which is exactly what getting to keep more of what you earn enables! | John |
| We cannot afford them | Peter |
| 10 % flat tax, including GST, and watch industry flourish! Encourage overseas companies that earn here, to keep their earnings here. | Aj |
| I can budget better than any Government and spend more wisely. | Grant |
| I know how to manage my own money better than any government | Richard |
| GET THE COUNTRY TURNED ROUND AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM REDIRECTED FROM IT SOCIAL MYSTICAL ONE SIDED VIEW OF HOW THE cOUNTRY SHOULD BE RUN | Stan |
| HERE’S HOPING!!!! | Sylvia |
| It is good that we have our own tax money to spend where we think is right. rather than the government spending it. Just wonder if it is the right time for it? | Lawrie |
| When taxes are cut, spending increases as people have more spare cash. Thus tax take usually increases as most of that cut goes back to th e Government on the merry go round. | Philip |
| NZ needs to recognize effort with heaps of recognition and not to be clobbered with high taxes | leo |
| Some public goods and services have to be provided by the State through taxation, but we vastly overdo it to the detriment of investment in productive enterprises. It is well recognised that the State cannot and does not contribute much tot he expansion of the economy. But expanding the economy is a thing private enterprise is great at. | kelvin |
| Absolutely, hard work must be encouraged and rewarded | mike |
| Lower taxes mean I have more in my pocket which I then spend which means higher demand for goods and services plus higher GST paid. Or pay off debt which puts me in a much better financial position, especially in these trying times. | Phil |
| Being allowed to keep ones OWN hard earned money rather than having it stolen by poorly equipped leeches who belong in ponds is always fair. Having recently endured the worst ever government of liars and thieves in the entire history of New Zealand ,who have successfully sold us all out to a new world order Eugenics program where execution by untested toxic injections is the only reward being offered. For what the labour government have done to the people of New Zealand there can be only one punishment…BY THE NECK UNTIL DEAD….but I know that under the current leadership of Larry, Joe. and Moe ( the worlds most famous 3 stooges) it will mean a continuation of the same garbage leadership with the same unfettered deception rules applying. WE ALL DESERVE THIS PUNISHMENT BECAUSE WE THE IDIOTS KEEP REURNING THE SAME GARBAGE PEOPLE BACK INTO OFFICE and stupidly expecting different outcomes .. WE THE PEOPLE ARE THE REAL IDIOTS IN THIS CONTINUOUS CIRCLE OF DECEPTION by returning same old group of failed tosspots . It is also unbelievable that we now see Jacinda on tv trying to get back into her previous , very financially rewarding position . How stupid can kwis be. Sadly for us time will quickly reveal to on coming devastation that we know is coming , and we know this BECAUSE all 3 of these failed stooges have done it all before TO YOU. | fred |
| Absolutely, we are one of the highest taxed country in the world. we need reform or better still increase the incomes of people so we can cover these high taxes that we pay. | Graham |
| Anything that keeps money in the hands of those who have earned it is a good thing. | Michael |
| Its what we do with our money that determines our results | Harvey |
| This will especially benefit low income earners, who should not have to pay tax at all on the first $20k earned. | Janette |
| Maybe, I would rather see all the red tape gone, plus the tax on on fuel go, that would have a far greater effect than tax cuts. | sven |
| Workers deserve to keep more of what they earn. Widespread welfare benefits to working age New Zealanders needs to be under close scrutiny. There is a need for defence, education and health spending, but higher taxes and red tape stifle progress. | Gavin |
| NZ must return to a culture of personal responsibility and tax breaks to save. Ie tax breaks are good BUT incentivise to save concurrently. | Geoffrey |
| Incentives & small govt please. | Doug |
| Lower taxes encourage growth, innovation and hard work | Peter |
| Tax cuts are long overdue and have been shown to be good for those countries that have the positive steps. This country needs to waken up and also to run efficiently The country has to be run efficiently | Tom |
| We all have to work through the Pain caused by Labour’s taxation spendthrift policy’s of last 6 year. The lunatics. Now for the hard bit equally for one and all. | mike |
| Total tax as percentage of GDP has doubled in a few decades, so spending cuts and tax need cuts need to be substantial. | ike |
| Between a rock and a hard place. Either way NZ is in big trouble. | Alan |
| Agree in principle – good adjustments that lift worker’s earnings, and therefore their morale, can lift an economy overall. It all depends on how ‘tax cuts’ are defined and applied. | Bazza |
| They are not direct tax cuts, they are moving the tax thresholds that have been left unchanged despite regular annual inflation for over 14 yrs | Mike |
| We have a record deficit, the small tax cuts proposed will only add to our deficit. We should not be spending money we do not have – any competent manager knows that you cannor baoor your way out of debt. | Alan |
| Absolutely. And until the Carbon Tax and ETS nonsense is abolished New Zealand’s economy will continue to languish. | Kevin |
| Tax cuts make no sense when the country is in debt up to its eyeballs. This one coalition promise that Luxon should have had the guts to postpone. | Ron |
| To do the job properly, government spending cuts MUST accompany tax cuts. Voters will be amazed at how quickly an economy can be turned around if this is carried out. Yes, there will be short term pain but a long term gain. National cannot be relied upon to do this. Will the remainder of the coalition do it? | Donald |
| What are we waiting for. Don’t wait for tomorrow, do it now | Johan |
| 50/50 on this one at present. | Colin |
| I will not argue with the present Govt. They have to undo the Labour Stranglehold on the economy and its Marxist aims of reward without work with ARDONE laughing all the way to the Bank. I had the task of creating the then Western Samoa National Provident Fund which opened for business on 13 July 1972, 13 months after my re-arrival in Samoa.. I Joined Muldoon’s 1975 team with taking on the Onehunga Electorate which had been Leader Hugh Watts’s old seat. The majority was reduced to 1044 on election night. My team gave then a terrible time. Even the campaign caravan was Molotov Cocktailed on the night before the election so it made the paper on that day. Earlier disturbances had occurred when Kindy Kids wore Tee-shirts with “Bet Your Shirt on O’Brien” on them and Enthusiastic supporters had used vinyl glue on stickers which went on shop windows and road traffic signs. Many remained throughout the next 3-4 years! My attachment to Muldoon was support for his removal of the Funded Scheme-it’s timing was wrong. NZ had foreigners betting against our currency and profiting from our reducing our exchange rate. To get a magazine subscription required a RBNZ approval! With the frisky Arbitration Court ordering wage increases Muldoon rightly sensed NZ was at risk of not being able to import even vital foods. A further risk was the New Provident Fund Savings Account Scheme required constant investment of new funds. That had to come out of Overseas Currencies! I fixed that in Samoa by allowing for investment in the local economy and elsewhere. IT WAS NOT PUT BACK INTO THE GOVT. It has remained so and has now over over Billion in assets and the whole 180K population earning 9% ON THEIR SAVINGS.. The NPF has a duty not to damage the economy . External supervision was there from the outset as the Power of Appointment of NPF Board Members was vested in external non-governmental organisations-including a Churches appointee. All who worked in Samoa were subject to NPF contributions and a minimum of 12 months after leaving the country before any refund of account balances. (Seeing I returned home in Dec 1974 my memoryis not too bad). | Kevin |
| I can only wish our new government every success with the huge amount of work they need to do. | Heather |
| Absolutely. The less tax and the smaller the government, the better off the country would be as history has proven time and again. | Pavel |
| There is no other course | Michael |
| Kiwis are bearing the brunt of a mismanaged economy of wasteful spending and misguided idealism by Labour. Ease some of the burden on Kiwis through tax relief and pay for it through harsh job cuts to the Labour-fuelled public service. Get more people into productive employment that contributes value to the economy through hard work and self-discipline. There is no pride or value in being a parasite on society. The tax paying workers deserve to be rewarded for keeping the wheels of industry turning in spite of these darker times. | Martin |
| My affirmation is subject to affordability. If you get something it has to be at the expense of something else. A realigning of the tax brackets, which has been suggested, might be more helpful. | chris |
| A readjustment of the tax brackets for inflation is long overdue, and will encourage greater productivity. | TrevorH |
| Look what happened in Hong Kong many years ago when they reduced tax to 5% and found that they collected more than ever before | Anne |
| Absolutely Help struggling lower income earners to survive | Honest dave |
| it is the best way to stop inflation | noel |
| 2 reasons: (1) will help with survival costs (2) will assist with providing incentives for increased production | Graham |
| The more tax cuts the better…actually, we should not have to pay taxes. there should be enough money to look after everything. | David |
| A constructive and thoughtful Capitalism is the only system that works and is the protective armoured goose that lays the ‘Golden Egg’ every Time. NZ must defang the green terror as their menu is load of bunk and our preoccupation with endless ecology is just destroying any hope of a prosperous future. | Chris |
| It is rare that Government departments’ manage taxpayer earned money better than those who have earned it. | Maurice |
| The NZ tax system needs completely overhauling. | Greg |
| Yes Please | peter |
| We can’t afford tax cuts. Money should be put into improving super scheme | Vin |
| but more is needed to encourage savings and investment. | john |
| YES but will they ever happen or is Nicola Willis & Luxon TOO BLIND. | Cindy |
| Yes we need to incentivise those who want to work hard.. | Clve |
| NZ MUST get rid of debt not increase it!! | David |
| Put more into the hands of those who worked to earn what they take home. & get rid of overtime & secondary employment penal tax rates. If I work more stop punishing me with increased tax rates. | Stan |
| Hopefully a reduction in Taxes doesn’t have the adverse effect on inflation creating more problems.Not helping anyone who really needs some assistance with the basics. | Michael |
| No tax cuts but a concerted effort to reduce food costs and gas costs. The tax is needed to continue to fund our infrastructures etc. | Sngela |
| The cuts are small in value for the vast majority of the population; and the costs of public transport and the cancellation of many incentives are way more than any tax cuts will deliver. | Rochelle |
| Needs to go a lot further – we definitely need a nation of doers | Peter |
| Yes! The government needs to get on with removing the socialist, shackling, communistic & rascst policies imposed upon NZ by the nutter Ardern & her fellow loonies (including Waitangi tribunal), tax cuts will help the working peoples get ahead & build some kind of future for themselves and families. | ANDREW |
| Vague ‘Tax Cuts’ – have to wait and see! Will provide more spending power for the economy maybe compensated for by unproductive ‘earners’ now laid off, having to find hopefully productive work & paying tax on productivity! | Stuart |
| More money in everyone’s pockets, not for government to waste | John |
| The individual takes care of his own funds much better than a government department full of useless bureaucrats | Peter |
| We need to get out of this mess labour has put us in, we must bite the bullit and pay now to help our future prospects for all future generations. | Tom |
| It has been proven before in other countries | Dominique |
| It is not tax cuts but adjusting the taxable rate for inflation. All other countries of the OECD do this with NZ being the outer. Secondly, it will release more money into the economy to be spent by individuals rather than the Government. This will increase the money multiplier effect. | Brenton |
| For some people | Terry |
| Yes it will. Place more disposable money in pockets. Tax cuts equality long overdue | David |
| National promised tax cuts in the election campaign before knowing that Labour had hidden expenses. They cannot now go back on their promise as people are suffering so much. If they did no one would believe anything they said again. | Jackie |
| Not at this time! First of all , knowing that we are putting up with an army of useless activist pencil pushers ( I called them ‘ landmines’ sown by the neo marxists), I ,strongly recommend a massive purge of that lot. Get rid of them as fast as possible. That will be a good start to a new beginning. Stuff all that woke PC nonsense and get on with it. Let the whingers whinge until the cows come home. Now is the time to get cracking.!!!!! | Michael |
| We all need something in this country of marxist leanings and application of the wrong Treaty interpretation. | Alan |
| To many people are unproductive | Rob |
| Changing the income steps to accommodate inflation is the obvious first step | Roger |
| less tax invigorates economies giving more money to the workers , this can them be used for housing & savings etc | Nigel |
| A reserved yes for tax cuts. Problem I see, if history is anything to go by – and it is, is that there is a give with one hand and a take with the other. So, no budget is ever designed to increase our wealth. Remember that the so called government is a corporate reportable to the puppet masters who are calling the shots!!!! Most people don’t realize that this is the case. What to do then? Chuck out the globalist and start again at grass roots level. Nationalism everything corporate that has been stolen from us. | Neil |
| You cant tax a country into prosperity!!!!! | Les |
| I agree with it as long as it is done properly. The tax brackets need to be studied carefully and adjusted fairly. | Murray |
| You can’t tax your way to prosperity. | Mark |
| I don’t think they will be world changing. They are already collecting plenty of taxes but the problem is they keep paying a good portion out to Maori for Treaty settlements and grievances. Time to start curtailing those payments in these financially challenging times and to dismantle the whole industry that has been built up around them like paying lawyers continually for every imagines and invented transgression..A few billion to be saved there which could save the country. And get rid of the Waitangi Tribunal and everybody at the trough there. | Terry |
| Better to cut the free flowing of OUR taxes to iWi | mike |
| Yes with a big maybe. Not at the expense of the general economy. What taxes will be first to go? | Tim |
| what we need is a total overhaul of the tax system so it encourages people to work harder and smarter to enjoy and keep more of what you earn | LesW |
| Let us keep more of our own money to spend and stimulate the economy of New Zealand. | Peter |
| There are too many socialists in NZ, so we need to rid ourselves of them and get on with improving finances here. | Jim |
| Will help personal economy. | Ann |
| Give middle class a break | Merv |
| Give workers a fairer rate. Encourage optimism. Fix tax bracket creep. | Helen |
| About time | Kevin |
| Absolutely. | Murray |
| of course | Wiremu |
| I fully agree with taxation bands being corrected for inflation and tax generally being reduced. A hard cut of government expenditure is also necessary, in reality it is overdue. The number of government funded agencies imposing on New Zealanders must be reduced. | Peter |
| we cannot afford them. | steph |
| Definitely | Bryan |
| WE need to incentivise productivity | Allan |
| And a flattening of the tax scale together with a reduction of benefits | Gerry |
| History proves the benefits so why are we not doing it! | mark |
| Vital for recovery. | mary |
| Great!! | Ian |
| As I understand it most of these “cuts” involve adjusting taxes for fiscal creep or inflation caused push into the next tax bracket. In real terms not cuts at all. It is a re-adjustment allowing for inflationary pressures | Michael |
| It’s time tax rates were indexed to inflation | John |
| People need to start investing and saving and our current taxes are a weighty load | Sharon |
| We need to encourage young people to be entrepreneurial and to step up – rewarded for efforts not punished with higher taxes | John |
| Tax does not generate wealth. | Kev |
| Increase in spending generates more GST income for government | Pam |
| Of course | Evans |
| Taxation is too high. Govt spending needs to be slashed. | Graham |
| help to get us moving forward | Paul |
| Tax cuts along with public service job cuts, bureaucracy cuts, compliance cuts – they’ll all help. Then encouragement to get stuck in and build the country. Raise the voting age to stop uninformed, inexperienced voters sabotaging the new direction. | simon |
| Any money left in pockets is good. But unless they slash spending its just delivering a promise rather than a real action towards a better future. | Bronwyn |
| Yes, yes, yes – tax cuts are absolutely good for the country. It’s only rampant socialists who believe in higher taxes! | David |
| Lower taxes are the key to a thriving economy. National should ignore the detractors and dramatically drop tax rates. When Labour did that in the eighties, dropping from 66 cents in the dollar to 33 cents, they collected more tax! | Maurice |
| Absolutely! Tax relief is exactly what the country needs. | Pauline |
| The silent majority of Kiwis want to keep more of what they earn. Taxes should be lowered further, And company tax should be dropped right down – as Ireland has done – so that businesses thrive, create more jobs, and lift the economy. It is a virtuous circle. | Colin |
| These tax cuts should just be the start. The Coalition should aim for a low flat tax so the country can prosper. | Sam |