Budget 2019: Unless we can find some way of taxing wealth as well as incomes, New Zealand is headed for an intergenerational economic meltdown, writes Grant Thornton tax partner Murray Brewer. It’s hard to get your head around how much money the government has. The slew of spending announcements in the run-up to Budget Day makes … Read more
Budget 2019: Opposition finance spokesperson Amy Adams on the rhetoric behind the first wellbeing budget, coming later this week. This week will see the Labour-led government produce their much hyped ‘wellbeing budget’. That of course raises the questions of what wellbeing means, how it is assessed and how this budget will be any different to … Read more
Now that we know what the Wellbeing Budget is, the question is how we can create the right political and social environment to support it, says Grant Thornton’s Barry Baker. Growing up in Southland in a single-parent home, my family relied on the Domestic Purposes Benefit and the generosity of charities like Birthright. During that … Read more
If the wellbeing budget is going to do something about the long-term productivity of the country, it must address the growing gap between digital haves and have-nots, writes Grant Thornton’s Helen Fortune. Many fear that increasing digitisation and automation will result in the mass loss of jobs. But that’s not what happened when the first … Read more
This month sees a landmark moment in the economic approach of the Ardern government, with the first ‘wellbeing Budget’ unveiled. How is it different, and what can we expect? Maria Slade sits down with the finance minister, Grant Robertson Grant Robertson isn’t Peter Jackson and the Treasury can’t do Weta-Workshop-level special effects, but the finance … Read more
The Budget’s R&D spend looks less than futuristic, says Grant Thornton’s Greg Thompson. While a chunk of this year’s expenditure naturally focuses on the perennial portfolios of health, education, justice and housing, this Budget aims to adjust the direction of our economy to deliver not just now but in years to come. This has been … Read more
They’ve left wiggle room for some rainy day expenses, but the Labour-led government more than anything has sought to sell today’s funding announcements as an exercise in cleaning up National’s mess. Rebecca Stevenson reports from Wellington Grant Robertson hammered a few key messages in his budget address today: this is a budget that will lay … Read more
Budget 2018: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a tax, says Grant Thornton’s Dan Lowe. Budget day is fast approaching and the predictions are coming thick and fast. Many will be watching with keen interest, not just because it’ll be Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s first budget since being … Read more
The health sector needs significant investment, but where is that money going to come from? In our series analysing Budget 2018, Grant Thornton’s Pam Newlove says the government needs to look to the private sector. How revolutionary do voters want the new government to be? It’s a question that must be considered, as the government … Read more
With the budget just weeks away we’ve created a helpful (mostly) alphabetic introduction to the mysteries of the annual government Budget. A Ambitious What every budget always is. B Books In budget-speak, this exclusively refers to accounts, often in relation to the balancing thereof, and disappointingly never to potboiler novels. C Chewing gum Michael Cullen’s … Read more
What might the 2018 Budget deliver on regional economic development, and how will it intersect with our largest city? In the first piece in a series analysing Budget 2018, Grant Thornton’s Murray Brewer casts his eye over the options and opportunities. The government’s moves on regional economic development are courageous and long-overdue, and will have … Read more