Labour drops tax cuts in favour of $1.5B of new spending

Tue, 21 Jan 2014

Jan. 22 (BusinessDesk) – The Labour Party is ditching two of its flagship tax initiatives from the last election, giving itself an extra $1.5 billion for alternative policy promises. Labour leader David Cunliffe announced the changes, which will see Labour drop its proposal to exempt fresh fruit and vegetables from GST and the first $5,000 of earnings from income tax. The GST promise, while politically popular, was criticised by tax experts as creating a compliance minefield for retailers, while the $5,000 tax exemption threshold would have...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.
Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].interval) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}