Govt warned against delay on tax reform

Press, 16 December 1981, Page 2

Govt warned against delay on tax reform

PA . Auckland The :chairman of the Young Nationals, Mr Peter Kiely, yesterday warned the Government that the electorate would not stand for further delays in tax reform. “We promised major, reform and the electorate will not accept anything less,” said Mr Kiely.

The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon), said on Monday that it might be difficult to implement significant tax reform in next year’s Budget because the taxation task force had yet to come up with expected positive recommendations.

Mr Kiely said that if necessary the initiative should come from the Government.

“The first clear indications that we are committed to tax reform has to be shown in the 1982 Budget,” he said. “Anything less is not good enough. “We were told during the General Election that it would come next year. It must.’’ !

In an earlier statement, issued aftera yeek-end . meeting of the Young Nationals Dominion executive, Mr Kiely said that there were stern warnings in the election result, which the Government could ignore only at its peril. “We must stimulate income and productivety by reducing high rates of personal income tax through tax reform as promised by the

party,” he said. “The electorate has put the Government on a short leash to carry out these reforms. It will not take kindly to anything less than substantial reform to regain the ground which has been lost by. the hard, workers and ■ achievers in society. J

“If this means looking ever more honestly and i carefully at the Government’s own spending in-some areas, well and good.” Mr Kiely also said that the Young Nationals’ executive hoped that the coming term would be one without the “scandals” which had lowered the esteem of the Government in the eyes of young people.