Category: MIL-OSI

The Government is taking the Digital Services Tax off their books, effectively handing a $479 million tax break to global tech giants, like Facebook and Google.

“First it was tax breaks for landlords and tobacco companies, now it’s multinational technology companies,” Labour finance and economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.

“Under National if you’re already doing well, you can have a tax break to do even better. But everyone else, everyday Kiwis, miss out.

“The message from this Government could not be clearer: if you’re a woman seeking equal pay, or a family trying to get the FamilyBoost payment that was promised to you, then you don’t matter.

“But if a wealthy corporation comes asking for help, they will bend over backwards to give them a break—at your expense.

“Nicola Willis promised Kiwi families $250 a fortnight, but she can’t find a single family who got it. More than a quarter of their FamilyBoost scheme, about $14 million, has been eaten up in bureaucracy instead of going to families as promised.

“They’re telling New Zealanders we need to tighten our belts, but this Government keeps giving handouts to the people who need it least and taking it from the people who need it most.

“Budgets are about choices, and at every turn this Government is making the wrong choices.

“We need a government that is focused on improving the lives of New Zealanders, not making global tech giants like Facebook and Google even more profit,” Barbara Edmonds said.

Note to editors: The $479 million figure comes from the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2024 (page 76), which states: “The forecasts currently account for a 1 January 2026 implementation and include revenue of $479 million over the forecast period in relation to the DST with an additional $146 million per annum expected beyond the forecast period.”

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The Government is moving to let two of the country’s most profitable banks off the hook for money owed to their customers.

“As Kiwis continue to feel the squeeze of the high cost of living, this Government is choosing to deny tens of thousands of New Zealanders who may be owed money the right to make a claim in court,” Labour commerce and consumer affairs spokesperson Arena Williams said.

“ANZ and ASB, two of the most profitable banks in New Zealand, broke disclosure laws designed to protect mortgage holders. Tens of thousands of New Zealanders may be owed thousands of dollars in interest and fees that were wrongly charged.

“Instead of helping people get their claims dealt with, National is pushing through law changes so that the penalties banks owe are softened and will be backdated.

“Their choice to change the law on behalf of banks and at the expense of Kiwis is outrageous. True to character, Christopher Luxon fails to see how every dollar helps families pay for their rents, rates, or groceries.

“This is what being out of touch looks like. This is a government that finds time to help billion-dollar banks dodge accountability, but no time to help the people they may have overcharged.

“Next time you hear a National Minister talking tough on supermarkets or energy companies, remember that the real decisions don’t happen in front of the cameras, they happen in Cabinet, quietly,” Arena Williams said.

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The Government can’t say if even a single family has received the $250 a fortnight they were promised.

“It’s time Nicola Willis got her binoculars out to begin the search for a family that has received her promised cost of living relief,” Labour finance and economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.

“There are 33 examples of where she is planning to cut women’s pay, but she can’t come up with a single example of anyone who has received the full $252 she promised.

“People who received it appear to be rarer than the little spotted Kiwi, the fairy tern, new ferries, or Nicola Willis answering a question without blaming Labour.

“National said it would help with cost of living, but so far all New Zealanders are getting are broken promises and cuts to women’s pay.

“It’s possible that not a single New Zealander received $252, and so the great Kiwi treasure hunt for Nicola Willis’ cost of living relief begins,” Barbara Edmonds said.

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