Dunne: Goff in empty ‘axe the tax’ mode all over again?
2 November 2010

Revenue Minister Peter Dunne today called on Labour leader Phil Goff to “put up or shut up” on his criticism of the Government’s decision to abolish gift duty.

 “Basically, Mr Goff needs to be straight with New Zealanders.

 “If he honestly thinks it is a mistake to scrap a tax that brings in just $1.5 million a year and costs people and businesses $70 million a year in compliance costs then he needs to tell New Zealanders: yes or no, will Labour bring gift duty back and at what level?” Mr Dunne said.

 “If he won’t walk his talk and reinstate gift duty, then this is yet another ‘axe the tax’ fraud being perpetrated on New Zealanders.

 “Mr Goff huffed and puffed for months about not increasing GST to 15 percent; he ran a campaign, worked out his slogans and one-liners, and then quietly let the whole thing slide, quietly admitting that Labour won’t change a thing.

 “This looks suspiciously like he is playing the same game again,” he said.

 “At some point, Mr Goff needs to decide that New Zealanders deserve more that cheap-shot, commit to nothing Opposition grandstanding.”

 Mr Dunne said Mr Goff’s claim that abolishing gift duty would open the way for tax avoidance and structuring were particularly concerning.

 “This is very clearly wrong. Existing legislation is already in place and covers these concerns.

 “It is quite concerning if Mr Goff does not have sufficient grasp of the mechanisms already in place to understand that,” he said.