Tax cuts favoured over Budget's assistance: snap poll

By HELEN TUNNAH DEPUTY political editor



People would rather have a tax cut than the Government's Budget boost for family assistance, even though it will eventually give many households an extra $100 a week, a snap poll shows.

The Herald-DigiPoll survey indicates significant support for slicing tax rates rather than targeted assistance for low- and middle-income households unveiled by Finance Minister Michael Cullen.

When voters were asked after Thursday's Budget if they would prefer the Government to lower taxes rather than spend the money on lower-paid people with children, 57.1 per cent wanted tax cuts and 36.7 per cent supported family assistance.

People were also asked if they would prefer tax cuts or a regular Government payment if their family qualified for state support.

Just under 60 per cent backed lower taxes and 32.5 per cent supported a regular payment.

The snap poll, with a margin of error of 6.9 per cent, surveyed a small sample of 200 people on Thursday evening and yesterday.

Prime Minister Helen Clark dismissed the poll and its questions as absurd.

But it underlines how hard the Labour-led Government will have to work to sell its $3 billion, four-year Working for Families package if it wants to turn it into a vote-winner at next year's election.

Opposition parties have portrayed the package as an extension of the welfare state, even though half of the 300,000 households who will benefit the most are low-paid families who work.

National, has not said it will scrap the package if it becomes the Government, but it may retain only some of the family-friendly payments and offer tax reductions instead, claiming that will help more people.

Helen Clark said last night that the poll had sought opinions about the Budget even before people had been able to read the details in yesterday's newspapers.

She said other polls consistently showed that people wanted Governments to spend money on education and health services rather than cut taxes.

National leader Don Brash said the results appeared to support his party's view that tax cuts should have been a part of the Working for Families package.

National was not making any comment yet on whether it would reverse any of the Budget's packages.