Whyte: Policies would double growth

Jamie Whyte would like to the cut the top tax rate from 33 per cent to 24 per cent. Photo / George Novak

ACT's five-point economic plan would double New Zealand's annual economic growth from 2 per cent to 4 per cent, leader Jamie Whyte told a small gathering in Tauranga last night.

About 25 people gathered at Club Mount Maunganui for the second public meeting held by Mr Whyte on his one-day visit to the city. Cutting the corporate tax rate from 28 per cent to 12.5 per cent by 2020 was estimated to raise the economic growth rate by 1 per cent on its own, Mr Whyte said.

An 8 per cent cut in the corporate tax rate could be achieved immediately by eliminating corporate welfare - government money provided to chosen businesses, he said.

"What happens when corporate tax rates go down, wages go up," he said.

The second point would be to cut the top tax rate from 33 per cent to 24 per cent by reducing middle-class welfare.

Mr Whyte said the scheme would stop middle and upper income families getting support from the Working for Families scheme but would make up the difference with the lower tax rate.

Cutting the amount of red tape was also imperative to improving the economy and Act would advocate to have the Resource Management Act repealed as part of the move to cut regulation, he said.

"Regulation is completely out of control," he said. "The RMA is just an outright assault on property rights."

Mr Whyte said welfare reform was also needed to get the 200,000 able-bodied New Zealanders currently receiving welfare back into the workforce.

"Being on welfare should not be a potential career." Act proposed lifetime limits on the amount of time a person could receive welfare for, he said.

The final aspect of the party's plan was to improve education through the creation of more charter schools, he said.