Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 15/5/24

The PM promises tax relief in the Budget – but will it be enough to satisfy the Taxpayers’ Union?

The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber.

The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the economy is just 3 per cent larger than it was at the end of 2017, but government spending per capita has grown by more than 50 per cent.

The speech is recorded on the government’s official website along with news from Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters that New Zealand and Vanuatu are to deepen their collaboration on issues of mutual interest.

Education Minister Erica Stanford flagged her plans to head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF).

The Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk, will be globe-trotting, too. He will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region.

He is travelling on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay.

The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May in Arequipa.

Latest from the Beehive

Speech

15 MAY 2024

Pre-Budget speech to Auckland Business Chamber

Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget.

New Zealand and Vanuatu to deepen collaboration

New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.

Penk travels to Peru for trade meetings

Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay.

Minister attends global education conferences

Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF).

Education Minister thanks outgoing NZQA Chair

Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin.

In his speech, the PM said the Budget will show the government has achieved its ambitious savings target of $1.5 billion per year.

The first priority of government now must be to achieve the best hospitals, the best schools, and the safest streets, he insisted.

Moreover, the government will deliver income tax relief to low-and-middle-income working New Zealanders for the first time in 14 years.

That tax relief will be fully funded – as was promised in the election campaign – from savings, reprioritisation, and new revenue measures.

I’m not expecting this year’s Budget to be a surprise. And that’s exactly the way it should be. We will do exactly what we said we would do.

We will cut wasteful spending.

We will get money out of the back office and into the frontline.

We will invest in infrastructure.

We will deliver tax relief.

We will make a virtue out of simply and unapologetically delivering what New Zealanders voted for.

The Taxpayers Union promptly responded with a press statement headed Anything less than $49/wek isn’t tax relief, it’s shortchanging New Zealanders

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said Luxon was right to point out that inflation over the last 14 has pushed New Zealanders into higher income tax brackets so that they are paying more of their wages in tax even when they are not better off.

“Successive governments’ failure to ensure tax brackets keep pace with inflation means that workers earning an average income of $66,196 are paying $49 more in tax each and every week than they would have done had income tax brackets been adjusted annually.

“Anything up to $49 a week for the average worker isn’t really tax relief, it’s shortchanging New Zealanders by only partially winding back the effects of 14 years of inflation on tax rates. If the Government is serious about delivering tax relief, it needs to go further.”

We like to think of ourselves as above-average workers, here at Point of Order. We therefore fancy we deserve something more than $49 a week – but we aren’t holding our breath.

Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton