The National Party is pledging that the average household will be $250 a fortnight better off with its 'tax relief' plan announced on Wednesday.
This is the announcement:
A family with children, on the average household income of $120,000, will be up to $250 a fortnight better off under National’s tax relief plan, National Leader Christopher Luxon says.
“New Zealand should be a country where if you work hard, you can get ahead. But after years of economic mismanagement by Labour, topped off by two years of rampant inflation, huge increases in interest rates, and a shrinking economy, most Kiwis are going backwards.
“In particular, the squeezed middle is being left behind. These are New Zealanders who work hard, sometimes juggling multiple jobs and family responsibilities, but inflation and high tax rates are eating away their incomes.
“National’s Back Pocket Boost tax relief plan will increase after-tax pay for the squeezed middle, making a family with kids, on the average income of $120,000, up to $250 a fortnight better off, and an average-income child-free household up to $100 a fortnight better off.”
National’s Back Pocket Boost increases after-tax pay for the squeezed middle from 1 July 2024 by:
- Shifting income tax brackets to compensate for inflation
- Expanding tax credits to reach more modest income earners
- Introducing the FamilyBoost childcare tax credit
- Increasing Working for Families tax credits for working families (from 1 April 2024).
Under National’s Back Pocket Boost, New Zealanders will be better off by:
- Up to $250 more per fortnight for an average-income family with children
- Up to $100 more per fortnight for an average-income household with no children
- Up to $20 more per fortnight for a full-time minimum-wage earner, and lowering the tax they pay for additional hours worked
- Up to $26 more per fortnight for a superannuitant couple.
“National’s changes to the personal income tax brackets are capped at $78,100 of income, meaning everyone earning over this amount will receive the same amount of tax reduction per week.
“Our plan is carefully targeted to ensure that those who will benefit the most are working New Zealanders. It’s about time they got some relief from Labour’s cost-of-living crisis and National will deliver that to them.
“It’s not right that someone on the minimum wage is so close to the 30 per cent tax rate, that if they choose to work longer hours, those hours are currently taxed at 30 per cent. National’s changes will mean a full-time worker on the minimum wage will only pay 17.5 per cent tax on extra hours worked.
“Tax relief will be delivered through a combination of adjustments to tax brackets, increases in tax credits for those on modest incomes, tax rebates for childcare costs and increases to Working for Families payments.
“National’s prudent, fully-funded and balanced tax plan also reduces major cost pressures faced by working people by removing some current and planned petrol taxes and reducing the taxes on rental properties which have driven higher rents.
“We will roll back Labour’s extension of the brightline test from an unreasonable 10 years – which sees mum and dad investment property owners treated as speculators – to two years, restore interest deductibility for rental properties to reduce pressure on rents, and remove new taxes on commonly-used digital services such as food delivery apps.
“National’s plan will make life easier for almost every New Zealander and is deliberately targeted to most help those in the middle who often feel overlooked. They deserve to keep more of their earnings and I have every confidence they will spend their extra cash more wisely than the Labour Government would.
“This plan sits alongside our wider plan to rebuild and grow the economy in order to lower inflation and interest rates, which will also help New Zealanders. National will restore discipline to government spending, remove red tape on businesses, build the infrastructure needed to support growth including 13 Roads of National Significance and four major public transport projects, and deliver the education and skills needed to support a growing economy.”
This announcement is from Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis:
Boosting incomes for Kiwis the responsible way
National will provide meaningful tax relief to working New Zealanders with a plan which will be fully funded through sensible savings, reprioritisations and new revenue measures, National Finance spokesperson Nicola Willis says.
“While Kiwis have been feeling the squeeze and tightening their household budgets, Labour has continued its reckless spending spree and will spend 80 per cent more this year than in its first year in office.
“Too much of this spending has been wasted and not delivered improvements to public services, with crime increasing, hospitals in crisis and educational achievement declining.
“National’s fully-funded tax relief plan carefully targets the squeezed middle to give New Zealanders a meaningful boost directly to their back pockets.
“Our Back Pocket Boost tax relief plan does not require borrowing and will reduce pressure on inflation. It has been designed to be self-funding so that National can guarantee tax relief for working people, even if Labour leaves the government books in a mess, as is predicted.
“Our plan includes reducing spending on back-office bureaucracy and consultants, returning taxes raised on climate polluters to Kiwi families through a Climate Dividend, introducing a 15 per cent foreign buyer tax on the purchase of houses worth over $2 million, ending the commercial building depreciation tax break, closing the offshore gambling tax loophole and moving to user-pays immigration levies.”
National’s tax relief plan will cost a total of $14.6 billion over four years and will be funded by:
Reprioritisations:
- $594 million on average per year reduction in spending on back-office functions in government departments, excluding non-core and frontline agencies
- $400 million on average per year reduction in government spending on consultants
- $590 million on average per year Climate Dividend, returning taxes raised on climate polluters to Kiwi families rather than giving subsidies to large corporates.
Targeted revenue measures:
- $740 million on average per year from introducing a 15 per cent foreign buyer tax on purchase of houses worth over $2 million
- $525 million on average per year from ending the commercial building depreciation tax break
- $179 million on average per year from closing a tax loophole and ensuring offshore operators delivering online gambling to New Zealanders, pay tax
- $123 million on average per year from moving to user-pays immigration levies, excluding tourist visas.
“National will protect health and education spending and ensure that money goes from the back-office to the frontline. We will increase spending in health and education every year in government and ensure that this spending delivers improvements for all New Zealanders.
“Government agencies and Crown entities excluded from the overall spending reductions include the Ministry of Health, Te Whatu Ora, the Ministry of Education, the Education Review Office, Oranga Tamariki, Corrections, Police, Defence Force, NZTA and Kāinga Ora.
“These agencies will still be expected to reduce wasteful bureaucracy spending, but any savings will be recycled into the frontline. All other agencies will be required to find savings and reduce spending.
“People know they can trust National with the economy. It’s been a tough couple of years for New Zealanders, but National will rebuild our economy and reduce the cost of living so that people can get ahead.”
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