Anderton a Threat to NZ's Prosperity

Tuesday, September 11 2001
Richard Prebble Press Releases -- Taxation

'You can't have your golden eggs unless you're prepared to eat the chooks that laid them.' That's what Jim Anderton is effectively saying in proposing to raise the top tax rate to 47 percent, ACT leader Richard Prebble said today.

"Mr Anderton's claim that New Zealand can put up taxes to pay for more social services, without fuelling the brain drain, shows he's economically illiterate and remains a threat to the country's prosperity", Mr Prebble said.

"We can all remember his election-night call for New Zealanders to come home and we all know the result of the Coalition's policies, driven in large part by Mr Anderton's agenda ' a huge exodus of skilled people overseas.

"At the Knowledge Wave Conference not one overseas expert recommended raising taxes. Yet Mr Anderton knows better.

"He ignores the work of international economists such as Patrick Caragata and Gerald Scully who've shown that New Zealand is already over-taxed and that lowering taxes stimulates economic growth.

"The only good thing about Jim Anderton's demands is that they will help make tax an election issue next year. Reducing taxes is not hard, but does require addressing the problem of one in three adults being dependent on welfare.

"Only ACT is proposing to deal with these problems. In contrast, the Coalition believes we can only 'afford' to have one in three adults on welfare if we raise taxes. Is that what we want to 'afford'?

"I'm looking forward to the next election campaign", Mr Prebble said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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