ACT would borrow $76 billion less than Labour this decade, new numbers released this morning show.
“Every other political party is in a race to spend more money. But every extra dollar government borrows today means higher taxes or fewer services for our kids and grandkids.
“It’s totally irresponsible to lump kids with a mountain of debt when they have no say on the issue.
“PREFU revealed that Labour will borrow $165.6 billion between 2020 and 2030. That compares with $89.6 billion, or $76 billion less, under ACT’s updated fiscal plan,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“By the end of the decade, debt as a proportion of the economy reaches an eye-watering 53 percent under Labour. ACT’s fiscal plan gets debt-to-GDP down to 37 percent by 2030.
“ACT’s plan would reduce spending by between $6 and $10 billion a year.
“We can keep giving handouts to wealthy New Zealanders and trendy businesses, borrow money to play the stockmarket, and continue programmes that don’t work, or we can save billions so future generations don’t have to pay it back.
“ACT would reduce the 30 percent income tax rate to 17.5 percent permanently, and cut GST to 10 percent for 12 months, to put more money in Kiwis’ pockets and boost the economy.
“In the first year, our plan provides $9.96 billion in tax relief. In later years, tax is reduced by around $2.8 billion.
“New Zealand’s historic debt levels demand serious political leadership. Our current fiscal track is totally unsustainable. Party leaders need to front up with plans for getting on top of out-of-control spending and debt.
“It’s not good enough for us to kick the can down the road. We need an honest conversation now about our out-of-control spending and debt.
“Every other political party is now in a race to spend even more taxpayer money. A vote for ACT is a vote for lower debt, less tax and a faster recovery.”