Labour breaks ‘one new tax’ promise again with ETS hike

Chris Hipkins has once again failed to stick to his “one new tax” promise, with Labour now proposing to deliberately drive up the carbon price through the ETS.

Taxpayers’ Union Policy Analyst Austin Ellingham-Banks said:

“Hipkins has spent weeks insisting that capital gains tax is the only new tax Labour is campaigning on. Apparently hiking the carbon tax doesn’t count.”

“Call it an ETS reform or a carbon price, but a higher ETS price means higher costs for fuel, power and transport. Labour can dress it up as climate policy, but taxpayers will still be paying more.”

“If Labour thinks the ETS is encouraging too much pine planting, it should remove the floor price, not crank up the tax.”