Tax cuts will begin taking effect from 2017 under a re-elected National Government, Finance Minister Bill English has announced today.

In releasing details of the party's fiscal plan this afternoon, Bill says reductions to income taxes will begin from April 1, 2017, by which time government would have $1.5 billion spare cash each year to pay for the cuts.

As set out in the Budget, a National-led Government will restrict average budget allowances for discretionary new spending and revenue measures to $1.5 billion a year over the next three years, he says.

Within this allowance National will:

• Allow around $1 billion a year for new spending, including between $600 million and $700 million a year more for health and education. This total new spending is consistent with the level of new spending in our last two Budgets and it's well below the $2 billion to $3 billion spending increases under the last Labour government, which had little to show for them.

• Reserve the remaining $500 million per Budget for modest tax reductions and further debt repayment, as economic and fiscal conditions permit. This portion of the allowance will be moved between Budgets and accumulated as necessary.Therefore, by the third year there will be around $1.5 billion available for tax cuts and debt repayment.

National's fiscal priorities for the next three years will be to return to surplus in 2014, reduce net government debt to 20 per cent of GDP by 2020, further reduce ACC levies in households and businesses, and reduce income taxes.

Bill says any tax reductions will be modest, given the fiscal headroom available, and they will focus on low and middle income earners.

'We will consider the details of a possible tax package closer to the time.

'As the Prime Minister and I have said, we won't be setting out a specific tax package before this election.”

What do you think? Would a promise of tax cuts make you vote National?