Finance Minister Grant Robertson should put the money where his mouth is and urgently adjust tax brackets for inflation, National’s Finance spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Speaking on AM today Minister Robertson stated “…every Government would want to be able to adjust those tax brackets and make sure that people do keep more of that money in their take home pay.”

“Mr Robertson is correct, Kiwis are unfairly being forced to pay more tax by inflation-fuelled bracket-creep. While the Government coffers are awash with cash, with the tax-take up 44 per cent since Labour came to office, Kiwis are falling further and further behind,” says Ms Willis.

“The Government must act and urgently adjust tax brackets to compensate for the corrosive effects of inflation.

“National has put forward a plan to deliver this. A prudent government could fund these sensible tax reductions by stopping low priority projects, reducing waste in the bureaucracy and driving more value from high levels of government spending - up nearly $1 billion a week since Labour came to office.

“While the Australian Government embarks on a programme of tax reduction and ‘Budget repair’, the New Zealand Government has been napping, content to rake in even more tax to fuel a record spending-spree.

“Under Labour, Kiwis are being fleeced. Their real wages are in decline, inflation is burning a hole in their pocket and the Government is extracting more tax from them each year.

“The Finance Minister must do more than talk about this issues, he must act without delay. New Zealander’s don’t want more insincere spin and election promises – they want relief, now.”

© Scoop Media