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Labour Dumps Tax Policies for Upcoming Election
David Cunliffe: Labour Dumps Tax Policies for Upcoming Election
David Cunliffe's weekly pre-caucus press conference – 22 January 2014
By Peter Kerr
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Labour Dumps Tax Policies For Upcoming Election
Labour has dumped two bothersome tax-related policies from its last election campaign which it estimates will free up about $1.5 billion a year.
A previously proposed $5000 tax-free zone and a GST exemption on fresh fruit and vegetables have been given the boot – along with the potential for opposition parties to quiz exactly how the policies would work in practice.
Labour leader David Cunliffe said other policies, including tax-oriented plans, will be announced in his State of the Nation address next Monday.
Cunliffe said the $1.5 billion saving will provide fiscal headroom to assist in proposed new policies, though its capital gains tax policy will remain. This tax will not apply to a family home and will not be retrospective he said.
He reinforced the notion of Labour’s vision for a better, fairer, more innovative New Zealand in:
• A high value economy with
more jobs and better wages that closes the inequality
gaps
• More targeted relief, not just for the poorest
New Zealanders, but also for the mid income bracket
•
A continued commitment to raising the minimum wage to
$15/hour in Labour’s first 100 days in office
• A
change to the industrial relations framework
• A
fiscally responsible, fully costed budget. “We won’t
write cheques that can’t be cashed,” Cunliffe
said
• A modification of laws around deep sea oil
exploration to world best practice. Labour is not opposed to
ocean drilling in principle, and will not impose a
moratorium
• Labour will not form a government with
ACT or the Conservative Party, and is unlikely to do a deal
with United Future
• Cunliffe is not ruling out a
post-election arrangement with Labour as the largest party
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Peter Kerr
Message maker
Writer, communicator, simplifier, storyteller.
Versed in the art and science of translating something complicated into an understandable message.
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