Duty breaks which have helped hotels and restaurants revamp could soon be extended to retail, Finance Minister Paula Cox has pledged.

Recently new Chamber of Commerce head Philip Barnett called for the concessions and said Government could ultimately rake in more revenue as improved shops wooed more customers resulting in more imported goods to keep pace with demand. The subject has come up in talks between the Chamber and the Ministry said Ms Cox who added: “We are waiting for some data but we are favourably disposed to looking at how that can be further expanded.

“We had done that with the hospitality industry and it something the Government would be prepared to consider.”

She said the concessions could be forthcoming within the next 12 months. Asked if the expansion of the duty breaks might lead some to question why rates weren’t cut across the board she said Government had been cutting a lot of duty rates through harmonisation of the duty codes.

“We are relying on underlying growth in the economy as opposed to increasing taxes.

“I don’t know if you will find the Ministry of Finance saying ‘across the board cuts’ but you will find we will look at the situation based on the needs of the economy. Where we can provide assistance to various sectors of the economy both personal and commercial then that will happen. That’s been the practice.”

On fears that the economy could be in danger of overheating she said Government had been careful to stagger capital projects such as the Hamilton Police station, particularly with an over-stretched labour pool.

Government itself has been sharply criticised for adding 1,000 to its payroll since 2001 — something business leaders say drains workers from the private sector and necessitates more work permits holders who add to the strain on housing and roads.

But Ms Cox said some of those 1,000 were already on the Government payroll but had been hidden by being designated temporary or part-time.

“That was a way for people almost fudging the numbers, having part-timers and ancillary workers as opposed to people having a clearly defined role and being made permanent staff.

“Now you are seeing a greater transparency and openness about the number of persons involved in Government. And Government clearly has to make sure it manages and uses its people more efficiently and I think we are seeking to do that.”

But she was unable to say what proportion of those one thousand had originally been falsely designated.

She said Government was not looking at outsourcing overseas but was looking at greater efficiency through oversight by the Central Policy Unit to eliminate duplication. “Governments sometimes tend to swell unnecessarily. Sometimes people also want to empire build. That’s the issue in having Cabinet Office talking about the efficiency strike force which is forcing people to be more accountable and manage better. “We have a tendency sometimes not to do that. We are conscience of what we need to do to be managing more efficiently.