The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has released a new paper outlining a suite of proposals to lift economic growth and therefore reduce debt as a
proportion of GDP. The paper is available at www.taxpayers.org.nz/growing_out_of_it
Taxpayers' Union Campaigns Manager Louis Houlbrooke says, "On current forecasts, government debt is set to reach $150,000 per New
Zealand household. There are two ways to slay this debt monster: cut spending, or grow the economy. While we need to do
both, our latest paper hones in on the second approach."
Growing out of it: Five policies to encourage growth and conquer debt makes five recommendations, all funded from the $14 billion set aside in the Government’s COVID-19 Response and
Recovery Fund:Cut GST from 15% to 10% for the next 12 monthsPermanently cut the $70,000-threshold rate from 33% to 30%Permanently cut the $48,000-threshold from 30% to 27%15-month hiring trial periods from October 2020 to end of 2021Increase the $100 million overseas investment threshold to $500 million
"Targeted tax relief will spur economic activity when we need it most. We propose a temporary GST cut which will
incentivise New Zealanders to bring forward planned spending, and we also suggest cuts to marginal income tax rates that
will reward productive work."
"Traditional tax relief, however, should only be one part of a growth package. Growth can also be encouraged through
relief from regulatory taxes. Specifically, we propose temporary but significant relaxation in rules that make employers
less willing to hire staff and foreign businesses less likely to invest in New Zealand."