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NZ First needs tax plan for coalition talk

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Mon, 11 Sep 2017, 3:01PM
NZ First leader says his party could not support Labour to form a coalition without more clarity on tax plans (Photo / NZ Herald)

NZ First needs tax plan for coalition talk

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Mon, 11 Sep 2017, 3:01PM

Winston Peters says he must know what Labour's tax plans are before he'll consider going into government with them.

LISTEN ABOVE TO WINSTON PETERS TALK WITH CHRIS LYNCH ON LARRY WILLIAMS DRIVE

The NZ First leader says his party could not support Labour to form a coalition without more clarity on what it expects from the planned tax working group and around the proposed water royalty.

"You can't possibly mean to go into an election saying 'my tax policy will be decided by committee and I am very sincere about that'," Mr Peters told the NZ Herald.

"One needs to know what we are talking about ... that should be total to a party's chances. And we need to know."

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern said Mr Peters had wrongly implied the party had worked through its expectations.

"We haven't. We've said we want to do this work in office once we have access to experts who are able to assist us to do it properly," she said.

"If he wishes to work with us then he'll have the ability to have some say and input into that process too."

Green Party leader James Shaw also leapt to Labour's defence saying Mr Peters should show a fully costed plan for NZ First's $10 billion of election promises before attacking Labour.

"It's the pot calling the kettle black." he said.

"Peters needs to be held to the same high standard Labour and the Greens have submitted themselves to by having his election priorities fully costed and independently scrutinised."

Mr Shaw said the Green party's fiscal plan would be released before the election.

But National leader Bill English backed Mr Peters' calls.

"Labour shouldn't just tell Winston Peters, it should tell the NZ public which of its seven taxes its proposing are going to apply, what the rates are going to be," he said.

Meanwhile National has released an update of its policy costings.

Campaign manager Steven Joyce said $1.98 billion of announcements make up 11 per cent of the Pre-election Fiscal Update reserve fund for new spending.

"We are therefore on track to stay well within the parameters of the pre- election fiscal update and reduce the government's net debt to $56 billion by 2022," he said.

 

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