BUDGET BREAKDOWN: The new Budget is out and our panel breaks down the best & the worst of what’s in it. Who wins? Who loses? And how does it prepare us to move forward in the future?
DIGGING UP THE DIRT: The schedule 4 mining submissions will close next week. What will be the outcome? Will we have new mining sites soon? We’re borrowing $250 million a week to pay our bills—will mining save the day? Or are there some places too precious to mine?
Join us for a night of LIVE pub politics from the Backbencher Pub: Wednesday, 26TH of May live at 9pm on TNVZ7 or Sky 97, drinkers gather from about 7pm. Our Panel: Green MP Kevin Hague, Labour MP Iain Lees-Galloway, and National MP Chris Auchinvole.
You’re a funny man, Trevor.
“The schedule 4 mining submissions will close next week. What will be the outcome? Will we have new mining sites soon?”
Well, the Nats cant argue for mining DOC land now, not now John Key has said each new zealander will be happy to pay $3 a week for ETS as an insurance premium for our environment. Gosh he’s almost a Greenie now! Well, by now, I mean, this morning, when he was explaining away the $3
$3/week for that show pony? what a gyp
Why oh why do we always seem to have a greenie on the team – For the comedy entertainment factor? I can’t think of any other reason.
Are you going to discuss the 80% public approval of the budget?
Yeah ok Monty, 80% of just a couple of people approve of the budget largely because the $30-$60 per week ECE cost rises haven’t hit them in the pocket yet, nor the GST increases.
And they haven’t had time to think through how NACT have firmly re-established their old pattern of targetting the vulnerable and low resourced. The elderly, young children, adults trying to retrain, etc.
OK, next.
Go Iain!!!
This budget sucks
C’mon monty even you will concede that a poll within 14 hours of Bill’s speech is pretty much going to reflect what his view of it is… like the calculators supplied by National which didnt include acc lveies, ets, etc etc.
Serious question, do you really believe everyone can possibly be better off, without some counter balance somewhere?
And how does it prepare us to move forward in the future?
That’s easy.
The plan, see, is that we move towards consumtion taxes so that that those of us who are in a position to invest, have more of their money to invest.
Unfortunately, there is nothing for them to invest in what with too many of them being sharks and ne’er-do-wells, and none of the rest of them having any ideas of their own.
Therefore we need to sell them state owned assets because the govt can’t produce things people want, only the aforementioned randian superheroes can, except for when they can’t, and then the govt needs to help them.
The poorer folk can eat cake. Lucky duckies!
nats dont like ETS and maori party doesnt like GST increase. does not sound like popularity to me.
http://www.hone.co.nz/ vote on GST poll.
Of course Loota as no one who disagrees with Labour could possibly have their wits about them!
Which means all Nat supporters are fairly simple, yet if the Nat supporters are also mostly rich (you know, Nat’s “rich mates”) then that means either being smart is overrated (as clearly it leads to long term economic prosperity) or maybe, just maybe the Nat supporters are smarter than you would like to give them credit for.
Interesting though that the managing tax partner at Deloitte, Thomas Pippos stated that many of the changes were a huge step forward and would encourage economic growth: “ultimately, we needed something that would put more money in people’s pockets but also give them an incentive to save more and spend less.”
The Chartered Accountants Institute tax director Craig Macalister also said that “Mr English came close [producing a Budget that pleased everyone], and may have reignited the economy in the process”
I particularly like the NBR article where David Cunliffe is apparently “fizzing with anticipation” in terms of being determined that Labour will gain some traction from this with Phil Goff planning on fighting the Budget all the way to the polling booth…
Hmmm, so does that mean Labour are going to campaign on raising taxes & not reducing GST back to 12.%? Wow, that’s a vote winner. 2010 is very different to 1999….
The same article also notes that “National’s poll rating has been remarkably stable and nothing seems to have an impact on Key’s personal popularity.”
In terms of the so-called 80% in favour it would appear it was a TVNZ phone poll.
Like Spud, I didn’t get the call.
I would guestimate the polls to be 40% in favour, 30% against and the rest not sure/don’t care.
National supporters are like yourself plenty smart Rebecca, its just that the goals they set to achieve using those smarts are quite simple in nature.
As for the glowing quotes from the large accountancy firms etc. ummmm…who do you think the Govt co-ordinated and consulted with to determine this tax package? Not a surprise that million dollar tax partners for the big firms like the package, is it? Over $900 per week more in hand, there is plenty to like there.
Did any of these firms explain HOW the economy would be re-ignited by the budget? And in particular the development of an advanced industries and advanced services economy for the future?
As I’ve said before – having more money in pocket means people will be encouraged by the private sector to get into more debt, not less.
PS wait until people start getting hit with the GST rises and the ECE invoices in a few months’ time. The public is allowed to focus on John Key’s tax icing for those on top for the moment.
Haha hilarious – nice save Loota!
If you want explanations from the smart people that have the authority to say National are moving in the right direction then it is probably best you ask them yourself.
If I had the authority to speak on their behalf, well I wouldn’t have had to settle with buying a place in a cheap suburb now would I
Anyway, time will tell. Perhaps you will be right, but I doubt it!
Fair comments Rebecca, although I would take the accountants institute and Deloittes with a grain of salt, on the whole they dont appear to make their assessments or analysis with the same moral compass you and I do. A different form of Ivory tower and all that.
Rebecca said
Well, the top 1% of NZ’ers are much better off because of the budget as tax cuts focussed on them – that’s one mark against NACT. Happy to wait to collect the rest.
Let’s see what the financial markets do over the next 18 months. Key is counting on a quick deterioration and recovery this year, leaving calm financial waters and economic growth to sail through to the election next year.
Yes I view their comments with caution too, but still they are just 2 of a wider business community that seems to have assessed the Budget quite favourably.
Loota! This conversation just goes in circles!
Nothing begets nothing – if you begrudge rich people getting more of a tax cut then here’s a thought, get rich, pay more tax and you will get a bigger chunk of the tax cut pie. It’s that simple.
Like Tracey said in another post, if the goal is to give every one the exact same amount of money back via tax cuts then make the first $10k tax free. Is that what you want?
Or do you just want the foot of high taxes on the rich people’s neck and then increase the low-middle incomes via lower taxes & any other hand out you can drum up so that we all meet in the middle? Aah Utopia, wouldn’t that be beautiful.
Is that what you want? Like the Labour party all I am hearing is what you don’t want…
Of course like someone else has said on here, there has always been poor people and there has always been rich people. That is the nature of the human condition.
Even if you were to take the entire worlds wealth and then distribute it evenly to every single person I can guarantee you things would revert back to how they were in a very short period of time.
That is the world we live in.
The best thing we can do is create a balance where those who earn a high income through working hard getting lucky or a combination of both are validated and appreciated and those who work hard, have illnesses, family break-ups or circumstances etc beyond their control and struggle get ‘living’ assistance. Those who don’t work hard, take the mickey and struggle – well, I say that’s your choice. We can’t afford to support you.