A Taxpayers' Union – Curia undertaken earlier this month poll shows that 65% of New Zealanders favour automatically increasing income tax thresholds in line with inflation as is already the case for welfare benefits. 19% of those polled were against while 17% were unsure.

Taxpayers' Union Board Member and former Minister of Finance, Ruth Richardson, made the case for income tax bracket indexation in an opinion piece last week.

Commenting, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, says:

“Tax bracket indexation is about ensuring honesty and fairness in our tax system. Rather than letting inflation effectively hike taxes by stealth, if politicians want more of our money, they should have to legislate for it and justify the tax hike in Parliament and to the public.

“Many countries already adjust tax brackets for inflation and it is not a difficult policy to implement. Here in New Zealand, there are already inflation adjustments for welfare benefits and superannuation payments. Why should working New Zealanders be punished with stealthy tax hikes when they are not actually earning more in real terms?”

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