Roger Douglas MP.

Tax cuts:The tax cuts for 2010 and 2011 have been shelved. This is despite John Key promising in the Budget Speech last year that ‘under National, personal tax cuts are a priority. New Zealanders will be able to believe in our tax cuts, they will be able to trust our tax cuts.’
The tax cuts that [...]

This is the budget of deficits. A deficit of spending, a deficit of the current account, but most importantly, a deficit of imagination.Why do I say a deficit of imagination? Because Prime Minister John Key and Finance Minister Bill English, like all people who lack the guts to do what’s right, have taken the soft [...]

Background:New Zealand’s welfare budget soars, despite unemployment reducing sharply over the past nine years. This graph below shows the rise in social welfare payments, occurring at the same time that numbers claiming the Unemployment Benefit more than halved:
See
http://www.act.org.nz/blog/roger-douglas
for Graph
Part of the significant drop in the number of people in receipt of – or waiting to [...]

Tax is all about expenditure. If the Government spends $70 billion per year, then they have to raise $70 billion per year through taxation, or other fees and duties. If it were to spend only $40 billion, then obviously we would be taxed less.

Background:Over the past nine years education spending has increased substantially. Under Labour, education spending increased 43 percent in inflation-adjusted terms – yet what did this massive increase achieve? Looking at Year 5 Maths and Science from 1994 – 2008 achievement decreased while Government spending soared! This is only one example of the many failures in [...]

Health spending has substantially increased over the past nine years. Under Labour health spending increased almost 54 percent in inflation-adjusted terms to now make up 20 percent of Government spending, and eight percent of Gross Domestic Product.

The Budget – What You Should Know - is intended to help the public understand the Budget and realise what is at stake. This introduction piece to how to rate the budget is followed by a more close-in look at individual sectors like health, education and tax. Feel free to leave your comments on how you would rate [...]

Yield: An equitable serving for all
Ingredients:
2½ cup Productivity
1½ cup Fiscal Responsibility
1 cup Sound Infrastructure Investment
6 eggs Full of Savings
3/4 cup Free Trade
6 tablespoons of Choice in Health and Education
2 teaspoons of Skilled Migration
1 teaspoon of Government
Ingredients for Icing
9 tablespoons Tax Cuts (more to taste)
7 oz sweet Economic Freedom
½ cup Entrepreneurial Spirit
Method:
• Preheat economy oven
• Combine [...]

“Free marketing and deregulation are not right wing policy stances. They are the policies of those who believe in individual liberty and the availability of choice in a competitive environment.” – Aubrey Begg, Labour MP for Awarua 1972-75.
It’s time for New Zealanders to stop and think about what we want New Zealand to be like [...]

Prime Minister John Key’s recent comments on the Government’s plan to increase spending in the upcoming Budget only demonstrate how out of touch with reality he really is, ACT New Zealand Finance Spokesman Sir Roger Douglas said today.
“How can Mr Key proudly announce the Government’s intention to increase spending in health and education when, over [...]