Disappointing Budget for four out of five households

"Labour's big-spending Budget will be a bitter disappointment for four in five Kiwi households," says National Party Deputy Finance spokesman John Key.

"Only one in five households stand to benefit from the Working For Families programme.

"The package is even more cynical when you consider that working families will have to wait years before they see any substantial refund from Labour's over-taxation.

"This year alone, taxpayers will give the Government more than $1.5 billion in increased taxes as a result of changes in the tax brackets and increases to a variety of tax and excise rates over the past four years.

"The cynicism of this Budget will be lost on no one.

"The Finance Minister is overtaxing middle income households on the one hand, then giving it back through the welfare system. It's absurd that he then expects those voters to be grateful for getting their own cash back in a state sponsored money-go-round.

"Business, meanwhile, continues to get the raw end of the deal from a Government that proudly displays its anti-business agenda.

"New Zealand is paying, and will continue to pay, a heavy price for having one of the highest corporate tax rates in the Asia Pacific region. We are one of the few countries in the OECD which has not moved to lower company tax rates since 1999," says Mr Key.

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