National Party leader John Key delivered a broad hint about his thinking on tax when interviewed by the Otago Daily Times on Saturday.
At present, those earning more than $60,001 pay 39% tax.
He agreed he found the 39% top tax rate too high now that 15% of working New Zealanders were in that bracket, well up from the 4% when the "greed tax" was introduced.
"When you think that four out of five school teachers and every single school principal are in the bracket, you realise there is a huge number of people who work full-time paying that tax.
It is not the elite tax [Finance Minister] Michael Cullen expected it to be."
National remained committed to deliver- ing tax cuts if it leads the next government but voters should not expect policy details any time soon.
The full details of the tax policy would not be released until the election campaign proper started, although there could be some indication of party's thinking after Dr Cullen delivered his budget next week, Mr Key said.
Dr Cullen will outline his plans for tax cuts and probably family support in his ninth budget.
But he is expected to aim his intervention at the low-income earners in New Zealand.
Mr Key left delegates attending the party's southern region conference in Dunedin on Saturday in no doubt about his commitment to delivering lower tax rates.
"Fundamentally, National believes in the growth-enhancing power of tax cuts.
Labour does not."
He wanted National to simplify the tax laws so that people running their businesses faced a less complex regime.
The first step for a National-led government would be to determine how much revenue was needed from tax to run the government and how much it could afford to leave in the pockets of "hard-working Kiwis", Mr Key said.
Mr Key consolidated these impressions with his address to the party's Canterbury-Westland regional conference in Christchurch yesterday.
He outlined a five-point plan to ease the financial burden "suffocating" New Zealand families.
The five points he set out were:An ongoing programme of personal tax cuts.
A disciplined approach to government spending so interest rates track down, not up.
Putting an end to the "massive" rise in head office bureaucracy and dealing with regulatory and compliance issues that smothered businesses.
An "unwavering focus" on improving education standards.
Investment in infrastructure that the country needed to grow.
TAX RATES
Current effective tax rates (with low-income rebate)
15c per $1 on income up to $9500
21c per $1 between $9501-$38,000
33c per $1 between $38,001 and $60,000
39c per $1 over $60,001
