The Greens/Labour recipe of more and higher taxes would stall New Zealand's economic recovery just when we are getting back on our feet after the Global Financial Crisis, National's Associate Finance spokesman Steven Joyce says.
"The Greens have today proposed a 40 per cent top tax rate that would affect many hard-working New Zealanders, including school principals, doctors, and many small business owners," Mr Joyce says.
"We've been here before. A 40 per cent tax rate is damaging to the economy because it increases tax avoidance, penalises hard work, and sends some of our best and brightest offshore.
"And it is of course just another in a long list of new taxes Labour and the Greens want to introduce including a capital gains tax, a big carbon tax, taxes on water use, higher personal taxes, and regional fuel taxes.
"Just when the New Zealand economy is heading in the right direction and we are growing the largest number of new jobs in a decade, the Greens want to go back to the old tax and spend approach that clearly didn't work in the lead up to the GFC.
'Back then, our best and brightest were flooding out the door for better opportunities in Australia. Now migration out to Australia has stopped.
'Back then, welfare rolls were already growing because of our domestic recession. Now 1600 people a week are moving off welfare and into work because of our growing economy.
"Back then, government spending had jumped by 50 per cent in just five years, pushing floating mortgage rates close to 11 per cent and leaving us with forecasts of budget deficits and soaring debt into the future."
Mr Joyce says the economic recipe that's working includes lower, not higher, taxes and a government that is relentlessly focussed on growing jobs and getting people off welfare support and into meaningful work.
"National's economic plan is working for New Zealand. We have just become one of the fastest growing economies in the OECD. Keeping with the plan is the best way of helping people the opportunity to get off welfare and into work. We should not go back to the failed recipes of the past," Mr Joyce says.
2 comments
Which failed recipe?
Posted on 18-08-2014 15:09 | By space cadet
Yes but, New Zealand's foreign debt loading is as bad a policy as taxing the country to a standstill. How does Mr Joyce account for the 251 billion dollars of debt (March 2013) to foreign banking cartels - equal to more than 100% of New Zealand's Gross Domestic Product as opposed to less than half of GDP in 1984? Same result in my book, except that one is visible, painful taxation and the other a hidden tax and presumably painless as there are no cries of anguish, but both nevertheless equally destructive. One is immediately felt, the other is a slow descent into debt slavery with an appearance of 'doing very well' thank you. A bit like living an impecunious lifestyle courtesy of your floating mortgage. Neither scenarios are acceptable and should not be tolerated from any Government.
More welfare
Posted on 19-08-2014 07:42 | By Mike Lehan
I wonder what the greens and mr cunnliffe are planning to do with these ill gotten gains, surely their efforts are best spent on getting more people into work and increase the tax take that way, more people in work less on the dole, sounds like a win win to me.
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