Foss Craig: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Foss Craig: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:665;Page:12694] 
CRAIG FOSS (National—Tukituki) 
: 
 I will read a couple of very important points on Vote Finance. This Government is about action and a couple of points have been missing from the discussion so far but maybe other members will bring them up. As far as action goes on 1 October 2010 the tax rate for those people who earn under $14000 will change from 12.5c in the dollar to 10.5c. That is action. For those whose income on 1 October 2010 is between $14000 and $48000 their tax rate will move down from 21 percent to 17.5 percent. More than two-thirds of New Zealanders will face a marginal tax rate of no higher than 17.5c in the dollar. That is action and it puts paid to some of the accusations from members opposite who tend to go on endlessly. 
Those people on a taxable income of between $48000 and $70000 will no longer be taxed at 33c in the dollar; their highest marginal tax rate will be 30c in the dollar. That is outstanding action from a Government that has been in office for only 18 months. This measure will come in on 1 October. For those on an income over $70000 their tax cut will be from 38c to 33c. So when we hear rhetoric from members opposite about looking for action from 1 October the after-tax incomes for New Zealanders will first improve; second be on the way to catching up with Australia; and third will mean that we are well on the way to putting freedom fairness and equity back into the system. 
But wait there is more. Under this Government a married couple on superannuation will be about $80 to $90 better off. This is due to indexation the changes we have made to after-tax incomes and general increases in superannuation. Again that is action not just the plans general reports and reviews that members opposite rave on about. And wait there is more under Vote Finance. From 1 April next year corporate tax will move from 30c to 28c in the dollar. We hear about catching up to Australia. Hold on that rate is lower than Australia’s! At the very best it is going down to 29c in the dollar in maybe 4 years or so. New Zealand is running ahead and is more ambitious for itself if you like as far as business tax is concerned with a tax rate of no more than 28c in the dollar. 
Hey there is more. Yes GST is being adjusted on 1 October as part of the tax switch. Again I always express my surprise that the Green Party does not vote for an increase in consumption tax because we hear Green members endlessly talking anti-consumption. Well there they go—there is a consumption tax but they seem to vote against it. I also note for the benefit of those listening that the Labour Opposition voted against all these tax cuts and changes and it continues to argue against them. But to be fair it is par for the course for those members. They went for 9 years without cutting taxes at all other than for the cut in the corporate tax rate from 33c to 30c. I will give them that one. 
We are using six planks to clean up our economic system. They are to clean up New Zealand’s economy to rebalance it to refocus it to put focus back in the front line and most important to put confidence back into New Zealanders into their economy and into the Government that manages their tax. We will be managing it prudently as a prudent manager of the economy. Part of those six planks as I have just mentioned is tax reform. This country is seeing the biggest tax reform in 25 years. This Government is getting out and backing New Zealand families and jobs. We will have better smarter public services. Thus far up to $2 billion has been found through reprioritising money within the public sector—up to $2 billion. The only contribution from members on the other side of the Chamber was from the Hon Phil Goff who spent his Christmas thinking about something. He thought that he might cap the salaries of I think 50 or 60 or so public servants having signed up a few years prior to giving them a 5 percent annual increase for 5 years with those same players. 
Part of that is also national standards in education which I alluded to earlier. It is also boosting and investing in infrastructure which is all about investing in the future of New Zealand. We are unclogging the arteries and providing the infrastructure to allow our exports to go to the ports and allow tourists to come in. We have an ambitious trade agenda—$20 billion worth of aspirational targets with China.