29 March 2006

Brownlee slams Key’s tax costings

National's deputy leader Gerry Brownlee has gone out of his way today to embarrass and undermine the authority of National's finance spokesman John Key, said Finance Minister Michael Cullen today.

During question time today Mr Brownlee said a question about National’s $11 billion tax cut package “asks the Minister of Finance to comment on whether or not a hypothetical figure of $11 billion dollars in tax cuts and we would assert that that is quite wrong and those figures are wrong …”

If these figures are wrong, the fault lies with Mr John Key, said Dr Cullen.

On NewstalkZB on 9 February Mr Key said "…from the last tax package we had which was probably the largest single proposed tax plan I think New Zealand has ever seen. I mean it was $11 billion worth of tax cuts over three years."

"Clearly Mr Brownlee either doesn't believe in John Key's tax cuts anymore or doesn’t trust Mr Key’s costings.”

“Perhaps he’s finally realised that cuts on this scale are blatantly unaffordable and could only be delivered by borrowing money and slashing spending on hospitals and schools.

"While National squabbles over the cost of their promised tax package, this government is delivering real income gains through the tax system with the Working for Families package and the business tax changes coming into effect on 1 April 2006," Dr Cullen concluded.

ENDS

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