New Zealand’s Choice: All the Things ACT Will Cut or Abolish to Pay Off COVID-19 Debt



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But it will take longer to pay off the debt. Seymour wants to cut GST and income taxes, which would reduce the government’s tax revenue.

“The ACT Party would reduce the GST by five points over a year to stimulate the economy, lower the median income tax rate from 30 percent to 17.5 percent so that people would keep more of their own money.” Seymour said.

The ACT Alternative Budget estimates that the cost of eliminating GST for just one year will cost $ 6 billion, and the income tax will change $ 2.7 billion in the first year, increasing to nearly $ 5 billion a year at the end. of the decade.

Instead, ACT’s plan is based on keeping debt low through massive cuts. Several schemes would be completely abolished, including:

  • winter energy payment
  • KiwiSaver Subsidies
  • the first year free scheme
  • Best Start payments for families with newborn babies
  • research and development tax credits and growth grants
  • the Provincial Growth Fund
  • Callaghan Innovation “etc.”
  • the Billion Trees program
  • film and career grants.

The number of government personnel would be reduced by 10 percent, the salaries of leaders would be reduced by 20 percent, increases from Work for Families would be canceled, and benefits would be cut to their pre-pandemic levels.

“If we want to put children at the center of everything, we must stop billing them for our current neglect as a country,” Seymour said.

Labor has proposed a new maximum tax rate of 39 percent for income over $ 180,000. That would raise about $ 550 million a year. The Greens want estate taxes, a capital gains tax, and more tax brackets for high-income people who are activated at lower income levels.

National has yet to publish its tax plan, but has promised that it will not raise income tax if elected and wants to tie the tax brackets to inflation to avoid fiscal difficulties. ACT’s plan notes that its cut to the middle tax bracket could bring in more money than it expects due to fiscal drag over the next decade, suggesting that the party has no plans to link them to inflation.

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