The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the Prime Minister’s intervention to rule out the Inland Revenue Department’s proposal to apply Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) to all utes worth $80,000 or more and other work vehicles — a plan directed by Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.

In response to media comment issued by the Prime Minister's Office last night, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams said:

“Simon Watts was pushing a new Ute Tax, without his Cabinet colleagues or the public even knowing. Had it gone ahead, farmers and tradies would have been slammed with thousands of dollars in additional tax each year – not just once like Labour’s Ute Tax, but every year.”

“The documents are crystal clear. IRD was instructed by Minister Watts to proceed with and consult with the tax industry on the implementation of a new FBT regime that would capture work vehicles, regardless of how they’re actually used. This was a massive tax hike by stealth.”

"As far as we can tell, the Revenue Minister didn't consult with any taxpayer, business, or farming groups, despite work having been done on this for nearly a year. Had he bothered to engage, the unfairness and political risk would have been obvious. That lapse saw the Government facing backlash because it was tax boffins who blew the whistle and it took everyone by surprise. Minister Watts should learn the lesson."

“Within hours of our campaign launch yesterday, the National Party was in damage control. Within six hours, the PM’s team overruled Watts and confirmed the policy would not proceed.”

The Taxpayers’ Union yesterday revealed documents showing that IRD had been working on changes to remove the logbook exemption for work vehicles and impose FBT on the assumed private use of double cab utes. According to IRD’s own estimates, the tax grab would have cost farmers, tradies and other ute owners $100 million per year.

“We give credit to the Prime Minister and his office for stepping in quickly and pulling the handbreak.” says Mr Williams.

“This is a clear win for taxpayers and proof that grassroots pressure works. We thank the thousands of Kiwis who used our online tool to email National MPs and demand the Ute Tax 2.0 be scrapped."

ENDS

The Taxpayers’ Union is celebrating a major win for taxpayers following Minister Chris Bishop’s decision to allow councils to de-list heritage buildings faster, including for Wellington’s derelict Gordon Wilson Flats.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf, said:

“We’ve long said that heritage rules are being abused by bureaucrats and activists to block development and dump costs on the public.”

“Minister Bishop’s decision shows he's listening to the concerns of taxpayers and ratepayers, not just NIMBIES and heritage lobbyists."

“Wellington and the rest of the country desperately needs more homes, not decaying concrete monuments.”

“This is real leadership that puts taxpayers ahead of ideology. We applaud Minister Bishop for cutting the red tape.”

Responding to the Government’s decision to introduce Road User Charges (RUC) for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The user-pays system for our roads has been eroded with more and more of the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) being used for areas unrelated to roading while an entire class of road users has been excluded from paying anything at all.

“Applying RUC to EVs removes a senseless distortion that did not reduce transport emissions which are already governed under the capped Emissions Trading Scheme.

“The Government must now commit to redirecting all NLTF funding to road upgrades and maintenance and any surplus should be used to reduce the fuel excise and RUC rates.”

Responding to the repeal of the Natural and Built Environment Act and Spatial Planning Act, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:

“David Parker’s resource management reforms tried to strip consenting, planning and resource management powers away from local communities and place them in the hands of unelected, co-governed regional planning committees.

“We saw with the creation of the failed Te Pukenga, centralisation of the health system and the ballooning costs of Three Waters just how costly and ineffective the ‘Wellington knows best’ approach is. The last Government had an obsession with centralisation at any cost, and it is promising to see the new Government on track to reverse that trend.

“Scrapping the NBEA and SPA will keep planning in the hands of local communities, and this will be welcomed with open arms by anyone who values democratic accountability. Forcing the incoming Government to scrap these power-grabbing pieces of legislation is a huge victory for grassroots Kiwi activism, but it won’t fix the underlying problems in the RMA itself.

“The RMA has fuelled a crippling housing and infrastructure crisis. We can’t unlock New Zealand’s potential for development and growth without taking an axe to all this red tape, and there’s a long road ahead of us before New Zealand gets the meaningful RMA reform we need to get New Zealand building again.”