1 Oct 2020

National's Paul Goldsmith on party's economic plan

12:42 pm on 1 October 2020

National's finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith spoke to RNZ Nine to Noon's Kathryn Ryan about his party's economic plan should it be elected.

The big selling point of Goldsmith's fiscal plan is its 16-month tax cuts, worth about $4.7 billion. When releasing the policy, he said it would save the average wage earner $3000, though this has been somewhat overstated.

He has been under pressure over errors in the numbers - two of which Goldsmith has admitted to totalling about $4 billion.

It also appears to have double counted money by tagging $3.9bn to the non-existent NZ Upgrade Programme, as well as including it in the sum allocated to capital spending, though Goldsmith and the party deny this. Labour also says many National's policies cannot be afforded alongside the tax cuts with the plan it has proposed.

In response to the criticisms, National has repeatedly said Labour has "no plan" for the economy.

See how the interview unfolded here:

Read more about the 2020 election:

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs