The SME Stream

NZIER economist Ting Huang on why New Zealand’s recovery will be gradual, with cautious households and weak investment holding back growth.

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Nicola Willis is hinting National could introduce more income tax cuts if the party's re-elected, but Kiwis may have to wait for them.

Speaking on a panel at BusinessNZ’s election conference in Wellington, Willis said the party has been monitoring 'bracket creep' and adjustments could be made after a return to surplus. 

OliverShaw Tax Partner Robin Oliver says there's a case for indexing the tax rates, and the Government should be transparent if they need to make changes. 

"We should legislate that each year, the Government should be transparent, it should go to the public and say - actually, we need to increase the tax rates on middle-income New Zealanders because we're going to spend it on healthcare, ED, what have you."

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Economist Cameron Bagrie on how likely the RBNZ will lift the official cash rate in October given the ongoing mideast conflict.

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Net migration is back on the rise as the brain drain eases. 

Stats NZ data shows the number of people moving here in the year to July outnumbered those leaving by 20,300. 

Annually, that net migration has risen almost 55%, with arrivals up 5% and departures down 4%. 

Immigration Expert Simon Laurent told Andrew Dickens that much as it has in the past, the security and safety of New Zealand is making it an attractive place to put down roots. 

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What we should do with KiwiSaver continues to be a hot topic this election season.  

The latest party to throw their idea into the ring is Labour, which wants to lift the employer contribution rate to 6% by 2032. 

They would also introduce compulsory employer contributions, even when employees have paused or reduced their own share and extend employer contributions to workers over 65. 

Nicola Willis was quick to call the policy a "watered-down" version of National's. 

Both New Zealand First and National are proposing compulsory contributions for all workers but have also both announced policies that would automatically enrol babies and children. 

Today on The Front Page, Labour's finance spokesperson, Barbara Edmonds is with us to talk us through the plan, and why it's actually different from other parties.

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You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Chelsea Daniels
Editor/Producer: Richard Martin
Producer: Jane Yee

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With the election under two months away, questions have been raised over the impact of Labour's proposed capital gains tax.

This campaign promise has copped some backlash, with National releasing several AI-generated ads condemning its impact.

Dentons tax partner Bruce Bernacchi says it could take some time to reveal the impacts of a capital gains tax, given the current 'flat' state of the property market. 

"I'm not privy to their modelling and maybe that's why it's been quite narrowly targeted at the free doctors' visits. But there surely must be a mismatch for the first few years."

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The Finance Minister's brushing off concerns about the government's fast track programme. 

Local Government New Zealand is calling on central Government to pause all referrals on housing projects - claiming they're bypassing council decisions.

It wants a review to clarify the housing fast track's role within the new planning system.

Nicola Willis says she wants to make clear fast-track approval doesn't give developers a free pass to charge ahead.

She says expert panels still impose conditions - requiring roads, wastewater and other infrastructure to be in place, before construction.

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The ACT Party has unveiled their party list ahead of the election - and they've placed Paul Henry in the top five and kept Seymour, McKee, and Hoggard at the top.

Paul Henry also indicated that ACT would be looking to bump the retirement age up to 67, but allow people to access their KiwiSavers from age 65.

ACT Leader David Seymour says the party would stagger retirement out - meaning people may have to work an extra few months before they reach the threshold.

"It's been our official policy for a long time, we'll confirm it when we release an alternative budget. Everybody likes talking about bottom lines, but I'll just point to how much influence ACT has been able to have without setting bottom lines." 

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Herald business commentator Fran O'Sullivan on Christchurch's tech and infrastructure boom

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Forsyth Barr's Zoe Wallis joins Herald NOW for the latest from the markets.

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