R&D tax credit
As part of National’s Research, Science & Technology policy, we announced that the R&D tax credit would be reduced from a 15% credit to a 10% credit. This was because much of the money that will be paid out will effect no change in the level of R&D whatsoever.
The reason for not abolishing the R&D tax credit altogether was that most OECD countries have such tax credits, and they are accepted as part of the international business landscape.
However, given the persistent operating deficits revealed in the PREFU, these tax credits have become a “nice-to-have” item that is simply not affordable any more.
National will, therefore, discontinue the R&D tax credits altogether. The additional saving from discontinuing the tax credits, rather than just reducing them to 10%, totals $619 million over the years 2008/09 to 2011/12.

I am pretty disgusted by this. 

New Zealand has one of the lowest percentages of R & D spend against GDP in the OECD.  We need incentives for R & D. We need innovation.  We need productivity improvements which these bring.

There is nothing in this fiscal policy for business.  When times are tough, the government needs to incentivise ecomonmic growth through business.

Considering the top growth countries in the OECD have 50-150% R & D incentives, 10% or removing all together is a big fail from a long term perspective.

However, given the persistent operating deficits revealed in the PREFU, these tax credits have become a “nice-to-have” item that is simply not affordable any more.

Are they a centre-left or centre-right party?  This smacks of a complete lack of understanding about what New Zealand needs to weather the storm in the current economic climate.

National have now ensured I will not even remotely consider voting for them.