Roger Douglas: Take with one hand give with another

Hon Sir Roger Douglas: Can the Minister please explain to the House and the people of New Zealand how borrowing $1 billion from some New Zealanders to finance tax cuts worth $1 billion to other New Zealanders will create a net gain for the average New Zealander? Hon BILL ENGLISH: A feature of these tax cuts is that they are permanent. National is committed to lower taxes because we believe that the long-term effects of them are to increase the incentive for people to get ahead and to increase the rewards for hard work, investment, and risk taking. We do not believe that we should abandon those principles because we are currently in a recession.