“Today in Parliament the Prime Minister showed he doesn’t know or doesn’t care that workers’ after tax incomes are falling behind inflation,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“He said wages are growing, but he couldn’t accept the cold hard fact; real after tax wages are falling. Labour used to be for the workers. Today people work from week to week to make ends meet, learning to do more with less while Hipkins’ Government does less with more.

“This week the Government is going to start giving more money to beneficiaries, students, retirees and minimum wage workers. What about the rest of the country – all the people who work for a living?

“If you get money from the state then on April 1 you’re in luck. The joke is on the approximately 2.8 million Kiwis who rely on working, saving, or investing to get by. They just pay more tax to pay for more wealth transfers to people who don’t work.

“Since Grant Robertson became Finance Minister the average worker tax rate for personal income tax has increased from 20 per cent to 22 per cent. This means the average worker is being taxed an extra $3,629 annually.

“When you incorporate GST, it gets even worse. In 2017, it was $8,083 per earner. It increased to $9,640 per earner in 2022.

“As the cost of living crisis drives prices up people are losing more of their income to the Government. Somehow the one thing that doesn’t get you ahead in life anymore is work.

“The cost of living crisis is ultimately a crisis of values. New Zealand was built on hard work but Government policy is more focused on dividing than growing.

“Taxes to this June are forecast to be $118 billion, up $32 billion from when Labour was first elected and took in $86 billion. Instead of taking this extra money from workers and finding new ways to hand it out, the Government should get its spending under control, cut taxes, and give everyone a break by letting them keep more of their money.

“This country is grappling with so many significant challenges – a cost of living crisis, out of control crime, a truancy crisis, and a health system under immense stress.

“ACT is the only party with a fully-costed alternative budget. That budget explains how we can reduce wasteful spending without touching frontline services and deliver tax relief for hardworking Kiwis.

“We would dump the bright-line capital gains tax completely, give a $2,000 tax cut to someone on the average wage, scrap the 39 per cent envy tax, and restore interest deductibility.

“ACT is the only party working for workers. The challenges New Zealand faces can be addressed. But in order to do that there needs to be a strong economy built around creating conditions for prosperity, giving people the opportunity to get ahead.”

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