Company tax will come back to haunt Cullen, says Chamber

5.42 pm

Today's Budget should have signalled a cut in company tax and its omission will come back to haunt Finance Minister Michael Cullen, says Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett.

"With Ireland's company tax at 10c and Australia's now at 30c, we are staying disadvantaged against the countries we want to be competing with for new business and skills," he said in a statement.

"We say we want to be up there with the top group of rich countries, but we are not following their lead by setting a competitive tax for business to look at New Zealand.

"Australia's cut in company tax has been known about for months; its importance to business cannot be overstressed and its omission from this budget will, I predict, come back to haunt Dr Cullen."

New Zealand's company tax is 33c in the dollar.

- NZPA

www.nzherald.co.nz/budget

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