Last week we covered why ACT stands for empowering families. “One-size-fits-all big government solutions” do not meet the needs of our diverse community, may never arrive from Wellington, and do not enable us to rebuild and Change our Futures today. Recovery starts with tax cuts – 30% rate to 17.5% permanently, and GST from 15% to 10% for 1 year.

This week I cover how to empower ourselves – our businesses and our families – with options and choice by reducing restrictions. Next week, safely operating our economy, border and healthcare on a pandemic planet. How will ACT empower small businesses (SMEs)? ACT has fought for years against ideological cigarette taxes that have risen too high, and made small shop owners the target of violent criminals.

During COVID we saw how easily SMEs get swept aside, and even though many put measures in place to operate safely from a public health perspective, they were still not trusted to take care of their customers.

Not being trusted and having to adhere to rules which are costly and ineffective, impedes our speed of innovation. ACT will cut ineffective red tape, decrease GST to boost sales, and enable all business to take a chance on a good person changing industries by extending the trial period to 1 year.

ACT recognises that despite working long hours, 7 days a week, the income tax rates are too high – so reducing the 30% rate to 17.5% ensures you keep more of your earnings – and your customers also have more to spend.

Many people who contact ACT through act.org.nz or the ACT App say making provisional tax voluntary, and the interest charged by IRD needs to be more equitable if they owe the taxpayer from overpayments – both of which ACT has adopted.

Putting more money into the economy and enabling SMEs to innovate is one step, but red tape and restrictions must be removed as well to enable Kiwis to make progress quickly.

Empowered to build

New Zealand is only 3-4% urbanised – there is plenty of land in our paradise. The reason the cost of land and building in New Zealand expensive is that we are over regulated, and the councils are risk averse. This is hindering working families from owning their own homes, reducing their stress, and improving their lives.

ACT would replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) with an Urban Development Act, which will allow property owners increased rights to build on their own land and automatically free up land for development when land prices become too inflated. ACT would replace slow, inconsistent and frustrating council inspections with 25-year compulsory insurance for builders, (a guarantee to homeowners), while allowing innovation and a faster rate of construction.

Building materials would be automatically allowed if authorised in jurisdictions with similar conditions to New Zealand (e.g. Japan). This ensures materials have been approved by a quality regulator, while increasing competition in the New Zealand building materials market, lowering costs.

ACT trusts families and industry to get on with building once the incentives are set up correctly. The current Coalition know the RMA is bad law but is only allowing the Government to side-step the RMA for its pet projects – this is unfair on hard working families that want to own their own home or expand their business.

Only ACT trusts you

To Change your Future, consider that only a Party Vote for ACT will decrease taxes, eliminate wasteful spending, and empower families and businesses to innovate by removing red tape (not wait for decisions from Wellington).

– by ACT’s candidate for Mt Roskill, Chris Johnston, who has outlined above, what principles and policies ACT stands for. Chris is a Project Manager who was born in Whanganui and has lived around Mt Roskill and Dominion Road for eight years with his wife and children.