“The cost of living crisis requires a crisis response and Parliament could start immediately by delivering meaningful tax relief with tax legislation in Parliament today,” says ACT Leader David Seymour....
“The cost of living crisis requires a crisis response and Parliament could start immediately by delivering meaningful tax relief with tax legislation in Parliament today,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“Other political parties have joined ACT in acknowledging a cost of living crisis but haven’t produced responses that meet the challenge. A crisis requires more than just tinkering, it requires real change.
“The Government’s tax bill before the House today is an opportunity for political parties to say what they’d do to reverse the $2,138 in extra tax the average New Zealander is paying.
“Real change would include dumping the bright-line capital gains tax completely, giving a $2,000 tax cut to someone on the average wage, dumping the 39 per cent envy tax, and restoring interest deductibility.
“ACT will be putting up amendments on the Government’s Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021-22, GST, and Remedial Matters) Bill that do exactly that and we challenge other parties to vote for them.
“ACT said in December we had a cost of living crisis. Since then, the dominos have fallen. National joined the chorus, then Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni, now even Jacinda Ardern.
“Acknowledging a crisis is a good first step but tinkering at the edges is inadequate. We need real change.
“The left doesn’t shrink from pushing its values on New Zealanders. Labour and the Greens must privately laugh when the right is too scared to change anything back.
“ACT is campaigning for meaningful change. We can’t afford for the next government to bed in Jacinda Ardern’s ideas like John Key bedded in Helen Clark’s. ACT will be pushing National so it’s not Labour Lite.
“We have a crisis and New Zealanders need real change.”
ACT's amendment to remove the bright-line test and restore interest deductibility can be found here.