Bay of Plenty residents are bracing themselves for the likely news that GST will rise to 15 per cent when the government reads the 2010 Budget at 2pm on Thursday.
Tauranga investment advisor, IRG BOP's Jonathan York, says the GST hike is necessary if New Zealand is to off-set its growing deficit.

"They've got their hands tied behind their backs because there's a desperate tax short fall," says Jonathan.
"We can't afford to keep borrowing. If we were a business, you wouldn't run it like that."
He says GST is the fairest "blanket tax" to ensure all New Zealanders contribute to reducing the nation's deficit.
Jonathan also says the big question is what the government will do with the property tax scheme.
The government did raise the idea of removing depreciation from residential and commercial sites.
He believes if depreciation is removed from the commercial sector, it could add about three per cent to a businesses' tax bill because the majority of New Zealand businesses own their own commercial buildings.