Labour Has No Excuse To Reject National's Feeble Tax Reset

Responding to the National Party's proposal to adjust income tax brackets for the last four years of inflation, New Zealand Taxpayers' Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says:

"This small adjustment to tax brackets is more of a 'tax reset' than a genuine tax cut. And even as a tax reset, it's a weak one. A more substantial reset would update tax brackets to make up for inflation for the full decade since the brackets were originally set, not just the last four years."

"It's especially concerning to see Christopher Luxon implicitly accept Labour's new 39% tax bracket. No-one should have to pay a marginal tax rate that high. It discourages workers from upskilling and being more ambitious and productive."

"We can only hope that this is an interim proposal with more substantial tax reform policies in the works for the election. Otherwise, National will cement its status as a party unwilling to wind back Labour's creeping socialism."

"The political merit of Christopher Luxon's proposal is that it is so modest that even a Labour Government has little excuse to reject it. This policy would barely scratch the sides of the Government's $6 billion spending allowance. If Grant Robertson can't accept such a feeble tax relief measure during a cost of living crisis, he'll expose himself as the ultimate scrooge."

The Taxpayers' Union will soon release a briefing paper explaining how the Government could substantially update tax brackets to counter the effects of inflation since 2011.

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