“Labour’s tax plan is like the schoolyard bully who steals other kids’ lunch money,” according to ACT Leader David Seymour.

Grant Robertson yesterday failed to rule out higher taxes on top earners if Labour wins in September.

Finance and Expenditure Committee chair and former tax lecturer Deborah Russell said late last year that Labour was considering higher taxes on top earners.

“Taxing high earners harder is bullying. It’s the majority plundering the minority just because it can.

“The top nine percent of taxpayers already pay 42 percent of all income tax.

“Top earners are not all rich. They’re often advanced in their careers, working hard, and supporting families and mortgages.

“Now Labour believes whacking them harder is a path to prosperity.

“The bottom 48 percent of income taxpayers pay just eight percent of all income tax.

“Labour is going to create even more dependency at the bottom if it can win them votes.

“This is just tall poppy syndrome in the tax code.

“Labour is like the schoolyard bully, stealing lunch money off the other kids.

“But we won’t solve poverty by punishing success.

“The simple question is this: Does Labour believe people can make a difference in their own lives?

“If so, the answer is to raise up those at the bottom with world-class education, a welfare system that doesn’t encourage dependence, a functioning housing market, and an economy that is growing and creating high-paying jobs.

“The alternative is divisive class warfare where the majority takes someone else’s property simply because it can.”

© Scoop Media