But wait, there’s more . . . Joyce’s Budget speech just a teaser

OPINION: It’s a ‘‘wait, there’s more’’ Budget – with the extra goodies due for release at election time. There were few surprises in Steven Joyce’s first Budget, with the income and tax package coming in at roughly the level expected – just under $500 million this year, rising to $2 billion in 2018/19.

There was a relatively generous shift in the accommodation supplement. At up to $80 a week for some, and turbo-charged for others if their home is reclassified in a high-cost area, it should make a huge difference to some families.

But it is worth bearing in mind that this move is playing catch-up with rising rents and house prices.

On that score, the Government is merely punishing itself for not acting sooner on curbing the housing bubble or boosting supply.

As for the spending announcements – well, there was little new there either that hadn’t been announced ahead of time, but there was a slight loosening of the purse strings, with the allowance for new spending eased out to $1.8b from $1.5b.

Joyce even played down the pre-Budget screen funding announcement, saying it was steady as she goes, rather than a major boost.

If there was a surprise in the tax package, it was the footling change to the 30 per cent threshold – from $48,000 a year to $52,000.

Joyce had made much of the fact that someone on the average wage was being hit by a big, big jump in their marginal tax rate – from 17.5 per cent to 30 per cent – at the upper end of their income.

But when the average wage was $49,000, the threshold was $48,000.

Now the average wage is $59,000 with the threshold at $52,000. If anything, National has gone backwards and the problem is worse than at the start of its watch.

During his press conference, Joyce had his ‘‘wait, there’s more’’’ moment, signalling it was an area in which he wanted to do more – and gesturing pointedly to the election campaign. It is a taster for the main course that will come closer to the election date – a sort of holding action that puts a downpayment on boosting family incomes and cutting tax rates.

And then there was the September 23 election ...

With economic growth hitting 3.8 per cent, unemployment falling to 4.3 per cent by 2020 and the forecast surplus rising from $2.9b next year to $7.2b by 2021, there is plenty of gilt in the cupboard.