Company tax cut to help small firms that create jobs

Nearly nine out of ten companies in New Zealand are small, often family-run enterprises that deserve community support, says Progressive MP Matt Robson.

"It is time to reward the contribution to job creation that small, often extremely small, companies make in New Zealand," Matt Robson said.

The Progressive Party has announced that it will campaign in next year's election on a platform that includes reducing the company tax rate to 30%, from 33% now.

Progressive will announce more policies before Election Day designed to help small businesses grow.

"All up, 86 per cent of all enterprises employ fewer than five staff.

"According to the Ministry of Economic Development's latest report on small and medium enterprises published in September, a stunning 97 per cent of all enterprises employ 19 or fewer fulltime staff in New Zealand.

"By ensuring that our small and medium businesses continue to be competitive and to thrive, progressive governments help ensure we can continue to afford to deliver forward-looking social policies like Four Weeks Annual Leave for all workers, an expanded paid parental leave scheme and to deliver also cheaper access to education and housing for all of our people," Matt Robson said.

Small and medium firms contributed 84 per cent of the net employment growth between 1997 and 2003, or 162,150 out of the 193,980 extra full time employment positions.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>