Wednesday, 22 June 2005

Copeland puts case for tax cuts

It is vitally important that New Zealanders are provided with accurate and clear information before the election about the affordability of tax cuts, United Future finance spokesman Gordon Copeland said today in Parliament's General Debate.

With that in mind, he advocated the following:

1. Immediate tax cuts are eminently affordable without reducing expenditure by as much as one cent on superannuation, education, health, police, defence, etc.

2. That is because this expenditure is deducted from the government's tax and other revenue before the surplus is calculated.

3. The amount of the surplus over the three year period 2005-2007 will be around $17.9 billion, but after setting money aside for the Super Fund that will be reduced to $10.7 billion.

4. By contrast, the cost of the tax reductions proposed by United Future will cost just $2.5 billion over that time.

5. Dr Cullen claims that can't be done because it will leave insufficient cash for capital expenditure such as roads, hospitals, defence equipment etc.

6. However that is only true because he chooses to fund all capital expenditure from the surplus year by year.

7. In fact, that is not necessary and there are a myriad ways in which capital expenditure can be funded, private/public partnerships and borrowing being just two of them.

8. These alternative ways of funding are conventional, as will be understood by most New Zealanders.

ENDS

© Scoop Media