Don’t believe the lies

Labour are telling massive whoppers, such as the is borrowing $120m a week to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.

The reality is that National's tax and packages will in fact lead to around $2.8b less debt by 2014, than ehwt Labour were proposing. 's office has released this table showing the components:

Net fiscal impact of the Government's tax changes ($million increase (decrease) in the operating balance)

  2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 6-year total
Election tax package1 (133) (238)  (37) 188 198 198 176
Budget 2009 cancellation of 2nd and 3rd tranches2   105 553 956 999 999 3,612
SME tax package3 (294) (189) 214 (108) (108) (108) (593)
Budget 2010 tax package4     (460) (90) (40) 175 (415)
Total (427) (322) 270 946 1,049 1,264 2,780

 

1. Fiscal impact = revenue (removal of R&D tax credit + changes + cancelling remaining tranches of Labour's tax cuts) minus costs (personal tax + IETC). Source: Cabinet Paper CAB(08)585.

2. This is not an increase in taxes but the cancellation of future intended tax cuts which were already in the fiscal forecasts. Source: Treasury Report T2009/418.

3. February 2009 SME tax package. Source: BEFU 2009, Table 1.7.

4. Fiscal impact = revenue ( increase + depreciation + LAQC + thin cap + WFF + GST base + + increased audit) minus costs (personal tax + company + PIE and savings vehicles + GST compensation). Source: Budget 2010 Executive Summary, Table 1.

The key thing to remember is that the combined tax and spending changes have been not just fiscally neutral, but in fact debt reducing. In the first two years they were slightly expansionary (which is not altogether bad) in a recession, but by the end of next financial year they would have been positive for the Government fiscally..

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