Good afternoon Friend,

What will you do with an extra $49 in your pocket every week? 💭

That's how much extra tax the average worker is paying every single week due to stealth taxes pushed through by the previous two governments.

Friend, Nicola Willis has promised you tax relief. But what does that look like?

Because successive governments have failed to adjust income tax thresholds for inflation, the ‘stealth’ tax hikes mean that the first $49 a week is just a catch up! 

The last time tax brackets were adjusted was in 2010. Since then, prices have risen by almost 37% meaning even if you got a 37% pay rise, you can't buy any more than you could 14 years ago – in effect, you are no better off.

But here's the catch: despite being no better off, the government is taxing you more and more every week. They tax you on the actual dollar amount you earn instead of adjusting for inflation, so you are only taxed more on real increases in your income. 

Nicola Willis knows she has to deliver relief of at least $49/week for the average income earner, otherwise they will be short-changed: “tax relief” isn’t tax relief if it doesn’t reverse Grant Robertson’s stealth tax hikes. 

Friend, the number to look for in the Budget is $49.

In just thirteen days, Nicola Willis will deliver her first budget. You already know the mess Grant Robertson and Labour left behind – and the resulting cost-of-living crisis that is stubbornly nipping Kiwis’ heels every day. 

Friend, together we are going to remind Nicola Willis exactly what $49 a week extra means to everyday Kiwis on everyday wages. We’re asking New Zealanders to share what they could do if the Government wasn't taking extra tax every week. 

Would the $49 go towards your kids' (or grandkids') swimming lessons? Maybe it’d help with the higher mortgage repayments (thanks again, Grant Robertson!). Or perhaps you’ll splash out on some prime cuts of lamb in your weekly grocery shop? 

Click here and tell us what you and your family will do with the extra $49 per week. 

We will deliver the answers to Minister Willis before the Budget so that she knows exactly what a difference that $49 a week makes and why it’s so much more important in your pocket, than taken by Wellington. 

If I had an extra $49 every week, I would... ✍️

After all, it’s you, not Wellington who earned the $49 (and every other dollar the Government takes in tax). That’s why we’re so excited for Nicola Willis to deliver on her promise (and election mandate) of tax relief and cutting wasteful spending to get the Government books back into shape.

Thank you for your support.

Connor Molloy Campaigns Manager New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union