National pledges family taxation review

Don Brash

National Leader Don Brash today gave some teasers on his party's tax policy.

Dr Brash said the current tax system reduced rewards for enterprise, skill and hard work while the welfare system encouraged destructive attitudes.

National would review the area of family taxation, in particular pressures on single income families which have incomes outside the range supported by the Government's Working for Families programme.

"Many of these families have one income supporting two adults and several children," Dr Brash said.

"Moreover many middle-income families eligible for some Working for Families payments simply won't claim them because they don't want to line up at a WINZ (Work and Income) office to make their claim -- and nor should they have to."

Dr Brash said instead of Working for Families National would tax less rather than "use a demeaning bureaucratic device" to fund families.

Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday announced a September 17 election date and Dr Brash has said he will release his party's tax policy at least four weeks before then.

This morning she said Dr Brash's "tease" would annoy the public and said he kept shifting the date on which he would announce the policy.

"It was going to come shortly after the budget, then it was going to come when the election date was announced, then they were going to say when it would be announced -- now they are teasing it out for another month," Helen Clark told reporters.

"You start to get the clear impression that this policy isn't that easy to write because it simply isn't credible to promise to spend more, borrow more, tax less and get it all to add up."

Dr Brash told the Radio Network Business Seminar in Auckland that voters would have plenty of time to digest his policy.

"I will be announcing a comprehensive package of tax reductions in a few weeks' time. We must lower the tax burden, we must get better incentives, and we must retain skilled Kiwis in this country," Dr Brash said.

"Those will be the key features of our taxation policy, all of which will be delivered close to the commencement of the formal campaign period, with plenty of time for New Zealanders to digest and understand it."

Helen Clark said National's tax cut and spending promises would hurt the economy.

"That is a Muldoonist recipe for New Zealand's economy becoming a train wreck and our Government has pulled the economy out of the shape it was in got it growing got it going ahead we're not going to chuck that away."

The Government has also argued cuts would see inflation rise.

"What they are saying is that if they spend your money it isn't inflationary; but if you spend it; or save it, it is inflationary. This is self-evident nonsense."

National has released parts of its tax policy; a tax refund on pre-school child care; and that interest payments on student debt would be made tax deductible.

- NZPA