Prime Minister John Key says the GST increase to 15 percent announced in yesterday's budget will not have a substantial and long-term impact on inflation.
Rents could increase by 4.5 percent to 6.5 percent, the New Zealand Property Investors' Federation (NZPIF) says.
Prime Minister John Key said the tax reforms in yesterday's budget would not affect the distribution of income in New Zealand despite opposition criticism they would benefit the rich.
Two programmes aimed at keeping young people and the unemployed in work were extended in the Budget.
A new camping ground at the Lindis Hotel Historic Reserve will be further developed as a result of new work announced as part of Vote Conservation's $424 million budget announced yesterday.
The biggest losers in the Budget could be New Zealand's youngest, as cuts to early childhood education (ECE) threaten quality in the sector.
The Government has pledged to improve the management of the assets it owns.
The surprise announcement that New Zealand's company tax rate would fall from 30% to 28% from April 1 next year was generally welcomed by the business community.
Otago school principals have applauded the Government's 2010 Budget which has injected an extra $1.4 billion into education for the next four years, but they are concerned there are some "fish hooks" hidden in it.
No Maori person would be worse off because of today's budget, Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples defiantly told media today after a budget increasing GST.
Just what yesterday's Budget announcements will mean financially for tertiary institutions is unclear.
The increase in GST to 15% from October 1 had the potential to create huge and complex problems for all taxpayers, WHK tax consultant Jarod Chisholm warned last night.
The Government yesterday moved to curb New Zealanders' obsession with property, Mitchell Mackersy partner Sally Peart said last night.
The Government's operating deficit, which soared as the recession deepened, is forecast to reach surplus by the 2015-16 financial year, three years ahead of last year's projection.
Although it was difficult to know what effect health funding in the Budget would have in the South, yesterday's announcements were better than expected, Southern District Health Board Errol Millar said.
Sweeping tax reforms introduced yesterday by Minister of Finance, Bill English, were the cornerstone of his second Budget of the current Government.
There is much in yesterday's Budget that is political rather than logical, but that is the quandary all governments face: their greatest power is the ability to impose taxes, balanced by their duty in a democracy to use revenues for beneficial public purposes.
The Government says it is delivering "smarter services" for biosecurity and the primary sector by providing pragmatic solutions.
A leading aid agency today accused New Zealand of failing to keep its promise to help the poorest communities in the world work their way out of poverty.
Today's budget brought little good news for farmers and the rest of the agribusiness sector, a senior business consultant says.
