NZ PM Hipkins: Budget will be “no frills” and ‘orthodox’

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has ruled out a special levy to pay for the cyclone rebuild in what he says will be a “no frills” and “orthodox” Budget handed down on May 18, containing “no major new tax changes”, reported New Zealand media early Thursday.

NZ PM spoke at the Employers and Manufacturers Association per the Stuff New Zealand.

Additional comments

There will be no new tax everyone would have had to pay, like a cyclone levy, to fund the recovery.

This will be an orthodox no-frills Budget focused on funding the things most important to New Zealanders like support with the cost of living and cyclone recovery. 

There will also not be any major new tax changes like a wealth tax or CGT.

Treasury estimates of the cost of the rebuild form the Auckland floods and cyclone Gabrielle between $9 billion and $14.5 billion of asset damage.

A key message of this Budget is restraint.

In a cost-of-living crisis, now is not the time to be asking Kiwis to pay more though a levy for cyclone repair costs.

The reality is the Government was previously doing too much, too fast, and the effect of that was being tied up with issues taking time and money away from where our primary focus needed to be.

Times are tough for many people right now. 

Family budgets are tight and many are going without.

I know that business is doing what it can to absorb increasing costs and not pass these onto your customers.

But with increasing input costs, supply chains under pressure, and an unstable global picture, there comes a point at which you have no choice but to increase your prices.

Also read: NZD/USD Price Analysis: Time for a bumpy ride ahead below 0.6100 ahead of US GDP