Pre-Budget poll sends mixed message on tax

Housing and healthcare topped the list of New Zealanders’ priorities in a pre-Budget poll carried out by accounting body Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ).

The poll sent a mixed message on tax cuts, CAANZ country manager Peter Vial said.

Nearly half of the 750 people polled (49 per cent) said tax cuts were very important.

But 64 per cent believed there were more important calls on any Government largesse, with only 11 per cent in disagreement.

‘‘Our poll shows that the Government will have to tread a fine line between delivering on demands for both tax reductions and also channelling greater spending into healthcare, education and poverty-reduction measures,’’ Vial said.

Twenty-three per cent regarded housing as the single ‘‘number one’’ priority for the Budget, followed by 20 per cent citing healthcare.

Education was also mentioned by 30 per cent of people as a ‘‘topthree item’’, followed poverty (26 per cent) and employment (25 per cent).

CAANZ said immigration (20 per cent) and crime (19 per cent) were ‘‘bubbling issues’’.

There have been strong hints the Government will unveil at least modest tax cuts by loosening tax thresholds.

But only one in five thought that was the best way to make tax cuts, with most favouring a mix of higher thresholds and tax-rate cuts.

Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton said the Government would have to ‘‘dig into its pockets’’ if there was a quake on the scale of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. This was because there would not be enough money to cover its commitments in the Earthquake Commission’s ‘‘significantly depleted’’ Natural Disaster Fund or reinsurance contracts.

‘‘It is prudent to have the government books in good order and to be reducing debt to provide the capacity to respond to circumstances.’’

But he said the tradeoff between tax cuts and paying off debt was a ‘‘political one’’, and tax cuts could help people pay for the insurance they needed.

An overwhelming majority of people polled by CAANZ thought any tax cuts should be centred on low- and middle-income earners.

Lower-income earners can be more likely to see higher percentage gains in their take-home pay from threshold changes, depending on how they are structured.

But higher earners tend to benefit the most in dollar terms from any tax cuts, including threshold changes.

Schnapps founder bankrupt

Former Wellington commercial real estate agent Ulf Michael Fuhrer has been declared bankrupt in the High Court in Wellington over debts owed to ASB. Fuhrer first appeared in March, but his case was adjourned for two months to allow some commercial property deals to be settled and payment to be made. When Fuhrer’s case was called yesterday, he did not appear, nor did his lawyer. Fuhrer’s debts were last reported to be about $27,000. He founded award-winning Upper Hutt schnapps maker Aotearoa Distillers, which went into liquidation in 2014.

Rocket Lab forced to wait

First it was the wind; now clouds have delayed Rocket Lab’s world-first test launch. The satellite launch company, valued in March at more than $1.44b, had to delay a test of its Electron rocket on Monday due to high winds. Yesterday it postponed the launch by another day. Chief executive Peter Beck said the rocket was now at the Mahia Peninsula launch pad site in Hawke’s Bay, but the firm was waiting for high-altitude cloud to clear. It has a 10-day window to conduct the test, which ends on June 2.

Queenstown’s special case

The Government could stump up with special funding for Queenstown outside of its new $102 million tourism infrastructure fund, and the town has a shopping list at the ready. Tourism Minister Paula Bennett will discuss the issue when she visits the town today for a briefing by the Queenstown Lakes District Council, and a meeting with the local Chamber of Commerce. MBIE tourism policy manager Kate West confirmed Queenstown would be eligible to apply. She also said its high number of visitors and status as an iconic destination made it a special case that could attract extra funding.

$200K fine for alpaca claims

A company and two individuals have been fined nearly $194,000 for claiming their duvets were ‘‘pure alpaca wool’’ or ‘‘100 per cent cashmere’’ when they contained little or none of the fibres. Princess Wool pleaded guilty to 14 charges and was fined $159,000, while manager Kevin Stocker was fined $20,187 on six charges and director Koo Yoarn Lee was fined $14,750 on six charges. During sentencing in the Auckland District Court, Judge Brooke Gibson noted that the offending ‘‘had the effect of punishing honest traders’’.

Concern at garage fire risk

One in seven house fires starts in the garage, creating concern about garages being converted into sleepouts. In the past 12 months, about 15 per cent of major fire claims handled by AA Insurance started in garages. Some spread to the family home and resulted in the total loss of house and belongings, AA Insurance customer relations manager Amelia Macandrew said. Many garages do not have smoke alarms, she said, and some are not connected to the main dwelling, meaning fires were less likely to be detected.