Prime Minister John Key outlined his Government's programme
for this year in Parliament today.
Key points included:
Tax:
* Closing tax loopholes allowing property investors to avoid
paying tax. How this will be done will be announced in the
budget.
* Consideration of a "modest" increase in GST, possibly as
high as 15 percent. It is currently 12.5 percent.
* Any increase in GST to be balanced by "across-the-board"
personal tax rate reductions.
* Ruled out are a land tax, comprehensive capital gains tax
or risk-free return method for taxing residential investment
properties. * Consideration of how to stop rich families
getting Working for Families tax credits.
Public services:
* Continued constraint: "Most agencies will see no additional
funding for several years."
* Improvements to management of Crown assets and liabilities.
Science and Innovation:
* Changes to how Crown Research Institutes (CRI) are funded.
* Investments in primary growth partnership to continue.
* Funding for a network of open access food development and
commercialisation facilities, investment in the domestic
centre for Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research and in the
Global Research Alliance, and in Primary Growth Partnership.
* Business research and science capability one area to get
boost in budget.
Trade * Continued efforts towards progress towards free trade
agreement with the United States through the Trans-Pacific
Partnership and for a successful conclusion of the for Doha
round of WTO negotiations.
* Push hard for progress on a single economic market with
Australia.
