This letter was published in The New Zealand Herald on Friday, 21 December, 2012.
The increase
in petrol tax and cancelling the reduction in Accident Compensation levies is
an attack on small business and rural tourism.
Sir Owen Woodhouse,
the father of the ACC scheme, is on record as saying that self employed and small
businesses are paying 30% more in ACC levies than they need to. As employers and
self employed we have seen our rates rise significantly over recent years and
we were looking forward to some relief. The impact of high dollar is real. In the Tourism and manufacturing sectors people
feel this reduction is long overdue. To cancel it is short sighted.
The increase
in petrol tax will impact further. Even Audi drivers think twice about a visit
to the Matakana wine country. We hear regularly anecdotal stories of people reducing
activities and about the flow-on effect that this is having on the economy.Things
can only get worse with the fuel tax increase.
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