“After six years of big spending with little to show for it, Labour and the Greens should be called the ‘Coalition of Klutz’”, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“The Government thinks all its spending is useful, but that position is completely indefensible – Labour is out of touch with the majority of Kiwis who know it can cutback wasteful spending.

“I asked the Prime Minister today whether he could imagine saving a single dollar from the $13 billion the Government plans to spend this coming financial year. All he could point to were inputs. More spending and more bureaucrats. There was nothing about better education or health, or safer streets.

“He’s like a chef who boasts about using the most expensive ingredients but produces an awful meal.

“Labour has taken to calling ACT the ‘Coalition of Cuts’, but we wear that badge with pride. Yes, we’ll cut waste from Government spending, and we’ll give Kiwis the tax cuts that most want and deserve. What’s more, the Coalition of Cuts is now a clear majority, with 52 per cent wanting tax cuts and only 35 per cent opposed.

“It doesn’t take long to come up with a list of rubbish spending by this Government:

• $2.8 million spent by EECA to tell people to have shorter showers could be cut given anyone with an ounce of common sense knows they can save money by using less power;
• The $18 million in the Budget for “public awareness” of Matariki could be cut, given a popular website called ‘Google’ can find about 3,400,000 results in 0.31 seconds;
• 15,458 bureaucrats have been hired since 2017 – have they all added value for New Zealander?

“The average New Zealander will pay $2,418 more in tax in 2023 than they did in 2017 as a result of this Government’s waste and fiscal incompetence.

“The next Government will need to make cutbacks. But Labour won’t listen, so ACT will have to deliver: we will cut waste, so we can cut taxes. ACT is the only party with a fully costed tax cut package which would cut wasteful spending by $38 billion and taxes by $34 billion over four years. These savings will put the Government’s books back in the black straight away, taking pressure off inflation.

“Under ACT’s simple two-tier tax structure, with a carbon tax refund and lower income offset, everyone will be better off. For example:

A couple with two kids earning the average household income ($110,451) will be $1,540 a year better off.

If the two parents are teachers both earning $60,000, they’ll be $990 better off – and if they each got the average teaching excellence bonus, it would add about another $7,000 to the family income.

If the parents work in the health sector, one a GP, one a nurse, they could be $3,490 better off.

“ACT’s approach is fundamentally different to what’s in store under Labour and the Greens. ACT will listen to voters, spend their money carefully on the things they want, and give them back the money we save.”

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