New Wellington Billboards Throw Down $49/Week Gauntlet For Budget

New Wellington billboards throw down $49/week gauntlet for Budget.

The Taxpayers’ Union is today launching five billboards around Parliament depicting the Finance Minister riding a piggy bank to emphasise the fact that the average Kiwi needs to see a $49/week tax reduction at next year’s budget in order to reverse 14 years of stealth tax hikes.

The billboard text reads, “$49 per week. Anything less isn’t tax relief, it’s shortchanging New Zealanders.”

These billboards are located at five different sites across Wellington’s CBD – Whitmore St, Featherston St, The Terrace, Brandon St, and Wakefield St.

Commenting on the launch of these billboards, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Thanks to the successive Governments’ failure to adjust tax brackets for inflation since 2010, bracket creep has forced Kiwis to pay higher and higher tax rates without them earning more in real terms. For the average worker, this stealth tax hike is an eye-watering $49 each and every week.

“Nicola Willis has been highly critical of this stealth tax, but, as these billboards point out, anything less than $49 a week for the average Kiwi at this year’s Budget will only partially wind back the effects of the last 14 years worth of inflation.

“Our billboards throw down the gauntlet for the Finance Minister to deliver real tax relief for working New Zealanders. Naysayers argue we can’t afford tax relief – that’s bulldust. Since 2017, government spending has increased by 84% and the bureaucracy has grown by more than 18,000 people. The government is spoilt for choice when it comes to potential savings.

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