Judith Collins defends Paul Goldsmith despite claims he made a tax take error

September 27, 2020

There are now claims National has now made up to four errors in its spending plans, an accusation Judith Collins denies.

National leader Judith Collins is standing by finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith despite additional claims he made errors when calculating the party’s tax take.

Today’s claims, which came after Goldsmith admitted to a $4 billion mistake in his alternative budget last Sunday, sparked criticism from New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and ACT leader David Seymour.

"I think if he'd had Treasury advice, it would've been easier for him to get those figures right," Seymour said.

Peters, meanwhile, called it "unbelievable."

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern said Collins should take responsibility.

"They have a lot of explaining to do and I do believe as leader of the National Party, that that job should be up to Judith Collins," Ardern said.

Despite the criticism, Collins was standing solid with Goldsmith.

“There was one error, and the rest of it is simply a different name for something. It’s been explained by economists and, you know, it's just typical from the Labour Party," she said.

Labour says most of its spending has been laid bare in the pre-election update, but it will release a further details in the next three weeks.

"Ours stacks up," Ardern said. "What I'm deeply concerned about is National Party's has a significant hole. You cannot promote tax cuts as well as spending as well as debt reduction and claim you are not going to cut services."

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