3. Question No. 3—FinanceHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 3—Finance3. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of the Government's policies statements and actions in relation to the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Yes in the context in which they were given and undertaken. Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does the average household in New Zealand pay more or less tax now compared to when the Government took office as a result of his Government's policies? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I don't have that information precisely to hand. What I do know is that we very proudly campaigned on withdrawing the tax cuts that the previous Government was going to impose that would have disproportionately benefited the wealthy in New Zealand and instead put that money towards making sure that low and middle income families are better off and we're very proud of that.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he think the average wage earner with no kids pays a fair amount of tax?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I believe that our tax system by and large is fair. There is always room for improvement but in New Zealand we have relatively low rates of income tax compared to the rest of the world. In fact most New Zealanders receive excellent value for money from the tax they pay and the public services they get. Hon Paul Goldsmith: Just in rough terms when he refers to low rates of income tax how much income tax does the average wage earner with no kids pay?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Again I'm not going to stand in the House and give an inaccurate statement. What I am going to say is that when we compare ourselves to other countries around the world we have overall relatively low rates of tax. We don't have as other countries have state taxes that get in between central government and the taxpayer. So overall I believe we've got a tax system that's fair. If the member wants to put down in writing a very specific question like that I'm very happy to answer it.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he accept that the increase in petrol taxes has contributed to pressure on New Zealand families?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Obviously all New Zealanders who use cars and put petrol in them have to pay for that petrol and if the member wants to define that as pressure he can. But what I note about the increases that the Government has made in fuel tax in 2018 it was exactly the same percentage increase as made by the National Government in 2013; the percentage increase this year is exactly the same as the percentage increase made by National in 2014; the percentage increase for 2020 is exactly the same as the percentage increase National made in 2015. The way that we pay for our roads and our transport system in New Zealand is through petrol tax and that is what the previous Government did and it's what this Government's doing.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Is he sure that the Kiwi motorist will get good value for the extra fuel taxes given the transport Minister's assertion that we have over-invested in roads?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I'm extremely confident that New Zealanders will see the investment from this Government in the whole of the transport system—in public transport in roads; not just in big highways but roads in the regions making sure that we actually take safety on the road seriously. On this side of the House we have a transport plan that covers all modes and yes I'm confident that's value for money.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he accept that the proposed new car tax will increase the cost of buying a car for most New Zealanders?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I reject the premise of the member's question. The Crosby/Textor - style spin doesn't actually work so well in New Zealand. New Zealanders know that we need to make some transitions in our vehicle fleet. Also I note that he might just want to check that position with Todd Muller who's actually very comfortable with the Government's policy as opposed to perhaps him or his leader.