KEY POINTS:
Listen up Michael Cullen - nearly eight out of every 10 New Zealanders want a personal tax cut, according to research commissioned by the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development.
But there was some respite for the Finance Minister who has held out against calls for personal tax cuts.
More than half said they would oppose tax cuts if they meant reductions in spending on health, education or welfare.
People are looking to the party that best balances these two positions, according to the research.
"There is an overwhelming public demand for personal tax cuts and a strong view the Government can afford to make them," the council's chief executive, Peter Neilson, said.
There were huge political stakes involved in how the tax reform issue was managed, he said.
Sixty-two per cent of voters surveyed said that tax would be the main policy they would consider when it came to voting in the next election.
But 13 per cent said a personal tax cut would be the single biggest factor influencing their party vote, while 49 per cent said a tax cut policy that also balanced the need for continued social spending would decide their party vote.
About a third said issues other than tax would be the main influence on their party vote.
Overall 76 per cent of New Zealanders believed the Government should lower personal taxes and 72per cent believed tax cuts were affordable.
Two-thirds wanted a modest cut of $20 a week or less, while 13 per cent wanted $30 or $40 a week.
More than 80 chief executives will discuss personal income tax reform at a summit organised by the council on November 1.
The survey, carried out by ShapeNZ, questioned 846 respondents nationwide between September 29 and October 1.
- NZPA
