Stuart Smith
National MP
Kaikoura
Below is Stuart Smith’s response.
The cost of living crisis is affecting every New Zealander, whether it be at the supermarket, increases in rent or paying off your mortgage – high prices are biting and making it tougher for Kiwis to get ahead.
This month, the government opened their books and revealed their financial statements.
Labour are now spending a billion dollars a week more than when National were last in office. That’s not how much they are spending: that’s how much extra they are spending.
What was startling to see was that the government’s tax revenue increased from $76 billion to $108 billion in five years. That is an average of $15,000 more in tax for every household in New Zealand.
But what are we getting for all this extra spending? New Zealanders are giving more money to the government, but outcomes are worse. Our health system is in disarray with more than 200,000 Kiwis on a health waitlist, the number of children unenrolled in school has doubled since Labour took office and we are seeing shocking crimes, such as ram raids, hitting the news headlines every day.
Despite being awash with cash, Labour still refuse to give New Zealanders a well-deserved tax break. The reason is simple – they are addicted to spending your money.
National are committed to adjusting the tax brackets for inflation, allowing working New Zealanders to keep more of what they earn. This would mean that someone on the median wage would get back around $800 a year.
At the same time as the government opened its books, New Zealand’s official cash rate rose for the fifth time in a row. This will mean that anyone re-fixing their mortgage in the coming months will be in for a shock as their interest costs soar.
If you have a $500,000 mortgage, this 0.5 percentage point increase will add an extra $50 a week to your interest payments, or $2,500 a year.
Remember that this increase has happened five times in a row, so many homeowners will be finding out that their interest rates have – in some cases – doubled. This can create real financial stress for many Kiwi families and first-time homeowners.
Instead of indexing tax to inflation, this government has gone ahead with their cost-of-living payment, which has reached 700,000 fewer people than promised but made it to 75,000 people living overseas, including French backpackers and London lawyers.
This type of payment was merely a Band-Aid on the cost-of-living crisis, cooked up weeks before the budget. The reality is, that payment has now stopped and the cost-of-living crisis is enduring.
The current government cannot be trusted on tax or to manage the economy. They are taking more and more money from New Zealander’s back pockets, but are failing to deliver the outcomes which we deserve.
