Bridges puts tax threshold Bill into ballot
WELLINGTON: National will this week put the first major policy it developed and unveiled in Opposition into the members’ ballot to be drawn at random.
The party’s promise to adjust tax thresholds, unveiled by leader Simon Bridges during his State of the Nation speech in January, had previously been billed as a policy the party would implement if National won the 2020 election.
The plan, at the time, was if National won the election, the new rules would be put in place the following year.
But yesterday, Mr Bridges announced the Bill would be put in the members’ ballot as well.
It would be adopted as government legislation if National won the 2020 election.
‘‘I’ve drafted this Bill to go into the ballot now because I believe Kiwis deserve a fairer tax system and they shouldn’t have to wait,’’ Mr Bridges said.
However, there is no guarantee it will be drawn before the 2020 election.
Each MP in Parliament who is not a minister has the opportunity to put a member’s Bill into the ballot.
If it is drawn, it is debated in Parliament and if it has the support of the majority of the House, it will pass into law.
Examples of Bills that were in the members’ ballot include the gay marriage Bill, which passed in 2013, and the euthanasia Bill, which is at present going through the House.
There are 71 bills in the ballot at the moment and they are picked at random. This means Mr Bridges’ Bill has a onein71 chance of being pulled.
Even then, it would need to have the support of at least the Greens or NZ First to become law if it were pulled before the election.
Mr Bridges said if it was drawn, it would ensure Kiwi families could keep more of what they earned, restoring fairness to the tax system.
At present, because of inflation, many Kiwis are pushed into higher tax brackets despite the fact they may not have received a pay increase.
Mr Bridges said over the next three years, many New Zealanders on an average wage would move into the top tax bracket of 33%. ‘‘I don’t think it’s fair for people on the average wage to pay a third of their income in tax.’’
The Bill provides for income taxes to be adjusted every three years in line with the cost of living.
‘‘If my Bill is drawn from the ballot and we assume inflation of 2%, someone on the average wage would be $430 a year better off after the first adjustment, $900 after the second and $1400 after the third.’’
He said the Bill would mean Kiwis would pay $650 million a year less in tax after the first adjustment, on today’s estimates. — NZME