A leading economist believes most New Zealanders would embrace tax hikes if they know they're going to get bang for their buck.
It comes as experts raise concerns last week's budget has entrenched a "big-Government" spending pattern.
Asked for his thoughts on whether higher taxes might be needed in the coming years, independent economist Cameron Bagrie said he thought most New Zealanders, himself included, would be in favour of such a move - but only "if we're getting results on the other side".
"The reality is, a lot of the spending [in the Budget] is just 'keep the lights on spending' to make sure the wheels of Government are actually turning," he told host Ryan Bridge. "What the Budget does not tell us, or give us any information on, is whether we're getting any actual, deliverable results out of that money being spent."
Bagrie said New Zealand has to focus on whether it was getting results for the additional money being spent.
The Government did raise one tax in the Budget - hiking the tax rate for trustees to align with the top 39 percent income tax bracket. That was expected to raise another $350 million per year, Revenue Minister David Parker said.
With this year being an election year, Bagrie urged political parties to show New Zealanders' results were being delivered "out of every dollar being spent".
"If we can deliver results out of more dollars being spent, me, personally, I wouldn't mind paying more tax," he said.
"We're very clearly moving, both locally and around the globe, into an era of what we call 'fiscal dominance' - that's far more influence coming from Government policy settings and, what we need to see in conjunction with that, is a lot more capability… in regard to focusing on fiscal Government-related issues, so you're putting the spotlight and make sure they're delivering results."
Watch the full video for more.
