Govt rejects super, tax idea

Press, 2 August 1985, Page 5

Govt rejects super, tax idea

By MICHAEL HANNAH in Wellington The Government yesterday rejected an allegation by the Opposition spokesman on revenue, Mr Michael Cox, that it has backed down on proposals to remove life insurance and superannuation tax benefits. Mr Cox based his assertion on a reply from the

Minister of Finance, Mr Douglas, to a question he had posed a fortnight ago. Mr Cox had asked when the Government’s promised Green Paper on the taxation and review of superannuation would be made available to the public. Replying, Mr Douglas had said that the discussion document on life insurance, superannuation, and related areastwas in preparation.

“This is taking longer than initially envisaged,” Mr Douglas had replied. “The document has not yet been considered by the Government.” However, the document would be released once it was completed. Mr Cox said the Government was to release its Green Paper at the end of August. He said that ..other sources, whom he not

name, had made it quite clear that the Government had put the document “on the backburner” after “intense pressure” from the Opposition, the industry, and the public. However, a spokesman for the Associate Minister of Finance, Mr Caygill, who is responsible for the preparation of the document, rejected Mr Cox’s statement.