No information leak from Treasury

Press, 19 September 1985, Page 25

No information leak from Treasury

PA Wellington The Government has found no reason to believe that proposed tax cuts were “leaked” to the press through the Treasury or the goods and services tax coordinating office. Accurate predictions by the “Sunday News” and Wellington’s “Evening Post” of the new income tax rates in last month’s Budget prompted discussions between Mr Douglas and the Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Bernie Galvin. A spokesman for the office of the Minister of Finance, Mr Douglas, said yesterday that inquiries had centred on the Treasury and the GST co-ordinating office, which is responsible for producing information about the new tax.

However, he said no reason had been found to believe there had been a leak of information. In Parliament, the Opposition finance spokesman on revenue, Mr Michael Cox (Nat., Manawatu), asked if Mr Douglas had made an investigation of how the tax cuts were “leaked” to the “Sunday News.” The Acting Minister of Finance, Mr Prebble, said Mr Douglas had made some inquiries, but was unable to find out the source of the newspaper’s information. Mr Prebble said that from his knowledge the “Sunday News” was quite capable of printing an article without any source at all. “It seems quite possible to me it has made it up.”