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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - In its last budget before elections later this year, New Zealand's Labor-led government Thursday introduced tax cuts for business, tied personal income taxes to inflation and announced a national scheme to help workers save for their first home.
Finance Minister Michael Cullen said the election year package would likely be the last big-spending budget for three years, as economic growth slows to about 2.5 percent for the next two years — about half the growth of recent years.
"The economy is at a turning point and we are forecasting slower growth for the next two years, with a recovery in the year to March 2008," he said. The new fiscal year begins on July 1.
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