The Government’s bloody-minded commitment to delivering trickle-down tax cuts at all costs comes at the expense of investment in people and planet.
“The Government has today pledged their allegiance to inequality through an unfair and unproductive tax system,” says Green Party co-leader and Finance spokesperson, Chlöe Swarbrick.
“While their Fiscal Strategy says they are committed to a more productive economy, they have made decisions to entrench a tax system that does the opposite. Once again, they’ve cherry-picked statements from the IMF and OECD, ignoring both of their recent pleas to tax capital gains.
“When the Government says their aim is growth, we must ask the question of who pays for that growth, and who pockets the gains.
“They’ve handed $2.9 billion in tax cuts to landlords, which our Reserve Bank says will only serve to make housing more expensive and arguably removes the incentive for new builds.
“A year ago, the IRD told us the wealthiest 311 families pay less than half the effective tax rate of the average New Zealander and hold more wealth than the bottom two and a half million New Zealanders. That’s not an accident.
“It’s a direct consequence of political decisions, like those made by the Government today, to keep these unfair settings in place.
“It’s cake for those at the top, crumbs for almost everyone else - and nothing at all for those struggling to get by on benefits, which the Government has already cut planned increases for, knowing they’ll push between 7,000-13,000 kids into poverty.
“Somehow even worse than that, these choices increase the cost of housing, helping funnel any pretense of these trickle-down tax cuts into the pockets of those who are enabled to gamble on housing.
“Meanwhile, an average family of four would have received an extra $288 each week under the Green Party's tax plan compared to the Government's $126.
“The Greens campaigned unapologetically on ensuring the wealthiest pay their fair share. If we did that, we could introduce a tax-free bracket for income below $10,000, fund meaningful climate action, build tens of thousands of public houses, decarbonise and reduce energy costs for homes, make dental care free and invest in the infrastructure we all rely on,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.
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