BLEAK BUDGET OFFERS NO PLAN AND NO HOPE
National’s Budget has exposed their lack of courage and vision. Their Budget hurts hard-working Kiwis but doesn’t fix our broken economy. What this country needed was a shot in the arm. We needed a vision for a better future and a plan for how to get us there.
What we got was a Budget that undermines the future of KiwiSaver. It bites deep into Working for Families, hurting middle income Kiwis the most. It also claims there are future savings of up to $1 billion that can be made in the public sector. But they don’t have a clue where those cuts will come from. Or they just don’t want to say. National promised we’d come aggressively out of the recession. We haven’t. They keep promising that good times are just around the corner. New Zealanders don’t believe them anymore. The reality for most Kiwis is that they are hurting.
The question is why is National slashing home help for older New Zealanders, cutting KiwiSaver, Working for Families and student loans but it won’t touch the thousands of dollars extra a week it gave in tax cuts to top earners. That is wrong. It’s unfair. The sacrifice should be shared fairly by all New Zealanders not just pushed on to those who can afford it the least.
LABOUR WILL BE BOLD AND INNOVATIVE
Labour accepts that existing spending isn’t sacrosanct. We are facing a $16.7 billion dollar deficit thanks to National’s mismanagement and failure to turn our economy round. Tough decisions have to be made but if there are cuts, they should be justifiable and fair.
Labour will relieve the financial pressure from the rising cost of living because we think New Zealanders deserve a break. We will take GST off fresh fruit and vegetables. We will make the first $100 a week tax free. We will implement bold new economic policies and a fairer tax system.
Labour will put hardworking families at the centre of everything we do. We will take New Zealand forward with vision and courage.
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Cuts to KiwiSaver, Working for Families & Asset Sales
STOP ASSET SALES
National has confirmed in its Budget that it will flog off our valuable community-owned assets and claims it has to do that to pay for the Canterbury earthquake rebuild. But selling off our assets doesn’t make economic sense given they return such strong dividends to the community. It will only leave New Zealanders worse off. Labour will put a stop to asset sales.
KIWISAVER CUTS
National is halving the amount of the tax credit they give KiwiSaver members from $1042 to $521. The minimum amount of your salary that you as an employee have to put into the scheme will rise from 2% to 3%. Your employer will have to do the same. All employer contributions are also now subject to the Employer Superannuation Contribution Tax. National promised not the cut the scheme. They have done just that.
This is a broken promise. Continually tinkering with the scheme will undermine it and create uncertainty. That reduces confidence in this very important savings scheme.
CUTS TO WORKING FOR FAMILIES
The Budget cuts payments to over 50% of the families currently receiving assistance. A couple earning $80,000 between them will lose $50 a week by the time the cuts are fully implemented in 2018. National claimed its cuts would only affect higher income earners. The truth is that it also cuts entitlements to people on very modest incomes – around 200,000 families.
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