Ryan Bridge: What are our wealthy politicians going to do with their tax cut?

Income tax cuts kick in for us today and 94% of us will get a few extra bucks. 

Will it be swallowed up by your mortgage, or your insurance going up, or your rates? Probably, but better we get the money and decide what to do with it than the politicians, right? 

Also today, MPs get their first pay rise since 2017, and watch closely, watch those particularly who shout the loudest about equality, and fairness, and justice, and all those good things. 

Do they put their money where their mouth is today? 

Chris Luxon, for his sins —and I assume it's to stave off the inevitable media storm about he's rich, he's white, he's got seven houses— he has promised to donate his full tax cut 20 bucks a week to charity, also the increase in his pay to charity. 

Hipkins, what's happening over at Labour HQ? 

Well, Labour has apparently emailed their supporters asking for the tax cut to be donated. 

It sounds good. Not to Women's Refuge or Kids Can, but to Labour. 

Yes. Take your tax cut and give it to Labour. 

But what about the Greens? Where do they stand on this? What gesture are they making? 

By their own estimates they are the wealthy elite, many of them own homes. They're on salaries of more than 170,000 bucks a year. 

They're getting a close to 3% pay rise backdated to last October I might add. 

And Chloe Swarbrick, as the co-leader, will now get a nice bump to her salary for that too. She'll be on well over $200,000. 

Where are the pledges to donate, Marama and Chloe, et al, where are they? 

These tax cuts, according to you guys, are cruel and dangerous and a national disgrace, they benefit the wealthy elites. 

So the question is, what are you wealthy elites, by your own definition, going to do about it? 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Income tax cuts kicking for us today, ninety four percent
of us will get a few extra bucks. Will it
be swallowed up by your mortgage or your insurance going
up or your rates? Probably? But better we get the
money and decide what to do with it than the politicians. Right. Also,
today MPs gets their first pay rise since twenty seventeen,

(00:20):
and watched closely watch those particularly who shout the loudest
about equality and fairness and justice and all those good things.
Do they put their money where their mouth is? Today?
Chris Luxen for his sins, and I assume it's to
stave off the inevitable media storm about he's raightch He's right,
He's got seven houses. He has promised to donate his

(00:41):
full tax cut twenty bucks a week to charity. Also
the increase in his pay to charity Hipkins. What's happening
over at labor HQ. Well, Labor has apparently emailed their
supporters asking for the tax cut to be donated. It
sounds good not to women's refuge or kids can but
to labor. Yes, take your tax cut and give it

(01:04):
to labor to quote, really help create the better future
alter our needs? Shameless and what about the Greens. Where
do they stand on this? What gesture are they making?
By their own estimates, they are the wealthy elite. Many
of them own homes. They are on salaries of more
than one hundred and seventy thousand bucks a year. They're
getting a close to three percent pay rise backdated to

(01:26):
last October, I might add, and Chloe Swarbrick, as the
co leader, will now get a nice bump to her
salary for that too. She'll be on well over two
hundred k. Where are the pledges to donate, Madam and
Chloe itel? Where are they? These tax cuts, according to
you guys, are cruel and dangerous and a national disgrace.

(01:48):
They benefit the wealthy elites. So the question is what
are you wealthy elites, by your own definition, going to
do about it? For more from Newstalks, be listen live
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