“The latest Household Expectations Survey from the Reserve Bank shows Kiwis expect inflation to bite even harder over the next year,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“The latest Household Expectations Survey from the Reserve Bank shows Kiwis expect inflation to bite even harder over the next year,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“Households on average expect 1-year ahead CPI inflation to be 7.5%. This is even higher than the latest annual CPI inflation of 7.2% for the September 2022 quarter. It is also higher than household inflation expectations for the previous quarter, meaning that expectations are accelerating in spite of the Reserve Bank’s actions.
“The pain of the government’s failed economic households is becoming worse, on average, households report a 15.3% chance of missing a mortgage payment in the next three months.
“It’s time to stop wasteful spending that pumps money into the economy without producing goods and services to buy. Too much money chasing too few goods means inflation. That hurts families and businesses.
“ACT has a package of solutions including:
Deliver a middle-income tax cut:
• Reduce the middle-income tax rate from 30% to 17.5%. Our plan will allow the average full-time worker to keep $2,000 more a year to help deal with the rising cost of living. That’s almost $40 more a week in the pockets of hardworking taxpayers to help them with the cost of life.
Carbon Tax Refund:
• We would return the tax revenue collected from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to them in the form of a Carbon Tax Refund. Based on Treasury's latest forecasts, that would mean a $749 payment in the next fiscal year to a family of four ($187 per person).
Cut wasteful spending:
• Zero base the public service by going back to zero and ask ourselves, if the departments and bureaucracies we have now didn’t exist, would we establish them today.
Real housing reform:
• Create a dedicated public-private-partnership (PPP) agency to get things built
• Introduce a GST-sharing scheme to fund infrastructure remove artificial restrictions on land use so the next generation can build on their land reform building materials regulation remove barriers to finance for build-to-rent schemes
• Introduce building insurance to replace regulations in the Building Act
• Create enduring RMA reform that respects property rights and recognises the need for continuous improvement in environmental. management
Workplace relations:
• Repeal the Matariki public holiday, new sick leave entitlements and the soon-to-be-introduced centralised wage bargaining (so-called “Fair Pay” Agreements)
• Reinstate 90-day trials for all businesses
• Pause minimum wage increases
• Reform the Employment Relations Act to ensure workers and employers have clearer dispute resolution rules without needing to resort to the Employment Relations Authority.
Support rural New Zealand:
• Push for regional freshwater rules over bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all regulation
• Repeal the ‘ute tax’
• Repeal the Zero Carbon Act
• Remove the requirement for councils to identify Significant Natural Areas.
“ACT’s package of solutions will make life more affordable for middle New Zealand and return confidence to businesses. We will keep listening to the concerns of New Zealanders and pushing for better solutions.”