Business is relatively happy with the policy direction of New Zealand but wants to see more investment in infrastructure.
That’s one of the main findings of the Deloitte BusinessNZ Election Survey that was presented to 300 business leaders and representatives of the main political parties at the Deloitte BusinessNZ Election Conference in Wellington.
This year’s survey shows the business community is relatively satisfied with current policies for economic growth and international trade, with the effectiveness of government spending, and with the current structure of the tax system.
But businesses want lower tax, more access to skilled staff and better performance from the education system, along with more help with research and development.
They want better outcomes from local government and the Resource Management Act, more spending on infrastructure and more focus on regional development.
Changes needed
BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says the areas where business wants change are related to the current growth environment.
“New Zealand’s positive GDP performance is good for business and employment growth, but it’s also a stress factor,” Kirk
“Many businesses can’t fill job vacancies and want to see more better-skilled New Zealanders coming out of the education system.
“Positive economic growth has also brought strains on transport and other infrastructure and on planning processes that are felt acutely by business.
“They want to see better local government decision-making and an improved RMA.
“Businesses want policies that help them take advantage of the growth environment.”
Deloitte Chief Executive Thomas Pippos says also notable was that business is softening its views around a number of social issues.
“Businesses surveyed seem open to change on some social issues.
Populism problem
“A majority of those surveyed say the conditions that led to Brexit, Trump and the rise of populism in Europe are becoming an issue in New Zealand.
“More respondents also say socio-economic wellbeing is a key indicator of economic performance than at the last election.
“And a number of business leaders indicated that they would support an increase in taxation if those funds were used to fund social investment.
“Finally, more employers also support a minimum wage set at a ‘living wage’ level than before.
“Overall we are seeing a greater sensitivity to the social environment and the role it plays in maintaining predicable policy settings that businesses like.”
Fast facts
Key findings in the 2017 Deloitte BusinessNZ Election Survey include:
- Corporate tax – 48 per cent are in favour of reducing business tax to 20 per cent, while 39 per cent are opposed
- Capital gains tax – 28 per cent are in favour of a capital gains tax; 59 per cent are opposed
- Income tax – 76 per cent are against increasing the top rate of tax (but 66 per cent would support an increase if spent on transport infrastructure and 55 per cent would support an increase if spent on social investment)
- Foreign investment – 53 per cent are satisfied with policies for attracting foreign investment; 23 per cent would like to see more foreign investment
- Immigration – there is a split in opinion on whether ImmigrationNZ has got the balance right in letting skilled people into New Zealand (28 per cent say too many are being let in, 19 per cent say not enough are being let in, and 33 per cent say the balance is about right)
- Resource Management Act – 36 per cent say the RMA is broken and should be replaced; 30 per cent say it could work if it constrained what councils can regulate; 28 per cent say it could work if planning processes were shorter
- Infrastructure – 60% per cent say more should be spent on infrastructure; 64 per cent want infrastructure provided by public-private partnerships
- Local government – 65 per cent want councils to focus on core services (local infrastructure and goods & services that can’t be provided more efficiently by business)
- Skills – 61 per cent are unhappy with the skills of young people coming out of the education system
- Regional development – 77 per cent want a regional economic development plan
- Sustainability incentives – 51 per cent want the government to provide incentives for cleaner production and resource efficiency
- Wage bargaining – 69 per cent do not agree with the focus on collective bargaining in the Employment Relations Act
- Living wage (i.e. a minimum wage of $20 per hour) – 91 per cent would be prepared to pay this in the near future.
The complete results of the 2017 Deloitte-BusinessNZ Election Survey can be found here on www.deloitte.co.nz and here on www.businessnz.org.nz
