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Hi
Friend,
With Budget
over, our heads are down working to launch our next campaigns fighting
for Lower Taxes, Less Waste, and More Accountability in the
coming weeks. First and foremost: tackling the costs of local
government, and demanding more transparency.
In
this week's edition, we expose the 14-year "temp" at IRD, dig up a
$100,000 ratepayer-funded dinosaur in Taupō (no, that's not a
metaphor), and highlight our first Generation
Screwed training retreat.
But before
we dive in, let's recap the most important event of the year for
taxpayers...
The 2025
"fudge-it" Budget 💳🫠
In
case you missed it, these were our thoughts from inside the Budget
2025 lock-up.
In short,
Budget 2025 could have been delivered by Labour's Grant Robertson.
Marketed as a 'growth budget', we were promised three things: tackle
overspending, get on top of the deficit, and go for growth.
Instead,
spending continues to explode, the forecast debt trajectory is worse,
and apparently, 'Going for Growth' amounts to just [checks notes]
one percent extra GDP
– over 20
years!
You
know it's bad when Red Radio New Zealand asks Jordan onto Morning
Report and gives the Taxpayers' Union a fair airing. Have
a listen. 👇
A mea
culpa from us... 🫢
As part of
our Budget update from the Beehive Lock-up on Thursday, we said that
Treasury forecast interest costs this year alone would amount to $9.5
billion, or "$467 for every Kiwi household".
A
couple of our more eagle-eyed supporters were quick to correct our
typo, pointing out that $9.5 billion doesn't equal $467 per household,
but rather $4,670! Jordan missed the zero!
Fair to say
we gave him the weekly wooden spoon award for the screw-up.
On the
brighter side ☀️📈
Before you
say we're too doom-and-gloom (or too hard on Nicola
Willis), we're not total naysayers. There are some good
initiatives in the Budget.
Here are
four initiatives that, whilst not necessarily popular, are
needed to get the books back into shape:
1. Reducing the taxpayer contribution to
KiwiSaver
The economic literature is really clear on this:
government subsidies to Kiwisaver don't actually serve
to increase overall savings rates. Instead, they tend
to shift money that people would save through other schemes
into KiwiSaver. That would suggest it is a poor use of taxpayer money
(the whole justification for the subsidy is to, apparently, encourage
savings). It would be far better to cut the taxes on portfolio
investments, regardless of whether it's Kiwisaver or another
scheme.
2. Stopping 18 and 19 year olds from
getting benefits, when family support is
available
This is a no brainer. We all know a family who
can't get their kid, sorry, young adult, off the couch!
For some reason, though, this policy isn't coming
into effect until 2027!
3. The Investment Boost
programme
This allows businesses to deduct 20 percent of
the value of new assets in the year of purchase. It's great policy
and a big step in the right direction – but only 20 percent as good as
the big growth kahuna: full
capital expensing 😍
4. Doctors' prescriptions will be
extended up to one year
Again, no brainer. Everyone knows the feeling of
having to go to (and pay for) the doctor for a two minute visit for a
repeat script.
The
alternative: The Greens want to tax you haaaaaard 🟢
Meanwhile,
the Greens have released their 'alternative budget'. Incredibly,
they didn't invite us to their lock up (!!!), but it was
still a
timely reminder that things can always be worse. 😳
Chlöe Swarbrick, Marama Davidson and co would have had us
all paying death taxes, wealth taxes, trust taxes, company tax
increases, income tax increases... you get the
picture.
They say we
need another $22 billion per year in tax-and-spend (that's $10,817 per
household!). Haven’t we tried that already?
When Labour
took office in 2017, government spending was $76 billion. By the time
they were voted out in 2023, that number had ballooned to $138
billion.
And what
did we get for it? Do you want more of it?
If that
much extra spending didn’t solve the problems last time, what makes
anyone think throwing another $22 billion at it now will do the
trick?
Ever
wondered what goes through Chlöe's clouds?
💨
In case
you're not an avid social media type and missed this. 🤣🤣🤣 The
marvels of modern technology...
The
14-year "Temp" 🤦♂️
Thanks to some
nifty OIA work, our Investigations Team have uncovered that IRD has
been paying one so-called “temp” for 13 years and 11 months. All at
contractor rates!
And it doesn’t stop
there. In
just the past five years, IRD has shelled out $20.8 million on 12
long-term contractors. One team alone burned through $12.4 million on seven of
them.
This is happening despite
Finance Minister Nicola Willis directing departments to rein in
consultancy spending. Clearly, IRD didn’t get the memo - or chose to ignore
it.
We say, if a role is
vital, hire for it. Unless something is temporary (i.e. not
14 years), contractors seldom offer better value for
taxpayers.
Rates-a-saurus Rex spotted in Taupō 🦖
Taupō District Council’s latest expense, sorry,
"artwork", aptly named "Boom Boom", was unveiled last week. A
steel "blow-up-style" dinosaur cost local ratepayers a cool
$100,000.
Proposed back in 2018, when crime, the cost of
living, and parking weren’t as pressing problems, it’s only fair to
wonder: should this dinosaur have stayed extinct?
The statue arrives alongside an eight
percent rates increase this year. Boom Boom goes the
Council's budget.
Investing
in the next generation of taxpayer heroes 🦸
Our
"Generation Screwed" activists 🪧✌️
While this year’s Budget won’t save New Zealand,
the efforts of Generation Screwed will.
Last week, the Taxpayers’ Union brought together
students from five universities for the first annual Generation
Screwed training retreat.
Generation Screwed is for
leaders of tomorrow who share our passion for building a more fiscally
sustainable and prosperous New Zealand.
Our bright young leaders debated the big issues
facing their generation, particularly the mounting debt burden they
stand to inherit, explored barriers to New Zealand's growth, and how
to effectively influence decision makers and policy. 🤞
From "Campaign Planning 101" to media
training and workshops on effective messaging, we're doing what
traditionally only far-left unions and environmental groups have done
in New Zealand: investing in young people.
Big shout to our guest speakers/workshop leads,
Dr Eric Crampton (the Chief Economist at the NZ
Initiative) and David Farrar (our former Board
Member/Co-founder) and the half a dozen extra-special donors
who specifically underwrote the travel costs / made the
event possible. 🙏
If you, or someone you know, is a student who
shares our vision of a prosperous, low-tax New Zealand with efficient,
transparent and democratically accountable government, email our Generation Screwed Coordinator,
Alex Emes.
Thanks for your support Friend,
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James
Ross
Policy & Public Affairs Manager
New Zealand
Taxpayers’ Union
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