Don Brash MP National Party Leader

24 September 2004

Give New Zealanders their tax back

National Party Leader Don Brash says Labour should be giving refunds to overtaxed New Zealanders instead of building an election-year war chest of unrivalled proportions.

"We know that if this money does not get returned to those who have actually earned it, this Government will inevitably waste it, as they have over the past five years.

"Taxpayers can be sure the bureaucracy will keep expanding, and working New Zealanders will be funding even more bizarre expenditure programmes.

"The current surplus offers the best opportunity in decades to take the pressure off families by boosting their disposable incomes via lower taxes.

"For the first three years of this Government real wage rates actually declined, and only recently has there been a small rise. A less than 4% rise in real wages over almost five years is not much reward for working people.

"With no change in tax brackets, take-home pay has grown at an even slower rate," says Dr Brash.

He says Labour should concentrate on getting better value for money with its spending on important core services like health and education, and give overtaxed New Zealanders a refund.

"We need to get the money through to the frontline services, not just continue building the health and education bureaucracies, which have expanded enormously under Labour," he says.

ENDS

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