3. Question No. 3—FinanceHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 3—Finance3. Hon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister of Finance: Are New Zealanders paying more tax now than they were when the Government took office?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Acting Minister of Finance): That would depend on New Zealanders' individual situations. I can tell the member though that nominal core Crown tax revenue has increased over the past two years due to rising business profits more people being in employment and rising wages which are all signs that the economy is in good shape. This is being invested in areas that were previously neglected like hospitals schools more nurses teachers and police—SPEAKER: Order! The member answered the question some time ago. Hon Todd McClay: Does he think it's unfair that as the economy slows New Zealanders are paying $6 billion more tax over the last year; an extra $3400 per household? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The member's presuppositions there are ones that I would question but what I will say is that it just appears that he is unhappy about the fact that wages are rising meaning Kiwis are taking home more money in their back pockets. From time to time of course Governments look at personal income tax rates just as they look across the tax system at whether the settings are appropriate and that's exactly what we did with the $5.5 billion family package which gave tax breaks to low and middle income families through the Working for Families tax credit scheme. It's a matter of values and that was our priority. I know the member is still sore of course that he didn't get his $1000 a year tax cut but we believe that the money was better targeted at the families who needed it. Hon Todd McClay: Does he think New Zealanders are paying too much tax given that on average an extra $3400 was paid over the last year per household? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: As I said previously New Zealanders have more money in their pockets because wages are rising. Businesses are paying of course better and they're hiring more staff. We know that corporate profits are up—that's why core Crown revenue is up. Average wages are actually rising at the fastest rate in a decade and so more New Zealanders are going home with bigger pay cheques. Hon Todd McClay: Does he think New Zealanders are paying too much tax?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Average wages are rising at the fastest rate in a decade. We have as I said to the member earlier ensured that those working New Zealanders through the Working for Families tax credits do have lower tax to pay. Now this is the Government that wants to see a strong economy and is investing in making sure that we are also addressing the infrastructure neglect that we inherited—nine years of infrastructure neglect—and we make no apology for investing in our schools in our hospitals and in our roads.Hon Todd McClay: Why has the Government increased petrol taxes three times and introduced a regional fuel tax to collect an extra $1.7 billion whilst it's also cancelled or delayed a dozen major roading and transport projects? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I reject the premise of the member's question. Hon Todd McClay: Well does he support National's plan to index tax thresholds to the cost of living so New Zealanders don't pay more tax each year than they need to?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The member again appears to be unhappy about the fact that New Zealanders have more money in their pockets because wages are rising. Of course as a Government we will make sure that we look at the settings to make sure they are appropriate and we are making sure that New Zealanders have more money in their pockets through the $5.5 billion families tax package which gave tax breaks to low and middle income New Zealanders. He might be sour about not getting his $1000 tax cut with the National plan but on this side of the House we're determined to make sure that New Zealanders are supported across the country.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Is the Minister saying that more New Zealanders now have much more discretionary spending in 2019 than they had two years ago?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: We know that more New Zealanders are better off because of the wage rises that we're seeing across the country; the business profits being up investment and so on. The member is absolutely right.