Hon Bill English & Hon Peter Dunne: Government to carefully consider tax report
The Government will carefully consider the Tax Working Group’s report on options for improving New Zealand’s tax system, Finance Minister Bill English and Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said today.
The report identifies a number of issues with the structure, coherence and sustainability of the current tax system, and proposes several interesting and practical options for dealing with them, they said.
“The Government’s focus in 2010 is increasing New Zealand’s economic growth and productivity,” Mr English said. “There is no doubt that good tax policy can play a role in that.
“For ordinary New Zealanders, we’re particularly keen to ensure that our tax system rewards effort, encourages savings and helps families to get ahead.
“At a broader economic level, we also want a tax system that helps move us away from our recent preoccupation with borrowing and consumption – at the same time recognising that any changes must be broadly fiscally neutral given that we face several years of budget deficits.
“As we’ve said, any changes would have to meet tests of equity and fairness, alongside delivering benefits for households and the economy. And given that we face another six years of Budget deficits, they need to be broadly fiscally neutral.”... Read the full text of this article.
