‘We don’t want tax cuts’
Ninety-seven per cent pick National as having the best policy mix for business
The majority of New Zealand’s top bosses don’t think the Government should cut personal income tax right now.
Almost 56 per cent of the chief executives who took part in the Herald’s Mood of the Boardroom Election Survey said it was not the right time to apply personal tax cuts.
In his first Budget in May, Finance Minister Steven Joyce unveiled $2 billion of tax cuts that would apply from April next year. While the majority are against the move, if tax cuts were made they should be targeted at low and middleincome earners, many respondents in the survey said. Some bosses who took part felt that investing in other areas — particularly housing, infrastructure, education, health and climate change — was more important than reducing tax. Close to 38 per cent of those asked were keen on personal income tax cuts now, while 6 per cent were on the fence. About 88 per cent of CEOs in the survey thought the ascension of Jacinda Ardern to the Labour leadership was a game changer for the election. Ardern’s charisma, her ability to appeal to a younger generation and her much sought after “cut-through” that former leader Andrew Little just could not seem to muster are some of her most admired attributes by chief executives.
However, they expressed major scepticism over Labour’s tax policies and want more details on the party’s economic policies.
Bill English was admired by chief executives for his financial prowess but they also feel a lack of boldness and political chutzpah hold him back.
When it came to which party had the best policy mix for business, 97 per cent of respondents sided with National.
If National had to form a coalition after the election, 76 per cent thought its existing coalition partners suited best.
Nineteen per cent thought NZ First was the best coalition partner for business.
On the other hand, if Labour had to form a coalition, 53 per cent of CEOs thought a partnership with NZ First would be best for business.
Rating the Government’s performance since the 2014 election, top bosses were most impressed by the focus on getting to surplus and by its fostering of economic growth and international trade. They were least impressed by how it tackled housing issues, mental health and poverty and homelessness.
Housing affordability featured highly in the survey, rating as the fourth-greatest domestic factor affecting business confidence.
The issue was also mentioned by most chief executives when asked more generally to outline the top three issues that are facing the nation.
But they are divided on whether there needs to be further intervention to constrain house price growth: 41 per cent were keen on this while 55 per cent were not and 4 per cent did not know.