On Wednesday, Prime Minister Chris Luxon delivered one of the blandest, most uninspiring pre-budget speeches of recent times.

There was next to no news; no announcements or initiatives.

Aside from a somewhat ironic joke about MC Simon Bridges’ hair, the speech was completely unremarkable.

Apart from one key line, delivered towards the end.

“We were elected on a platform of delivering tax relief to ...families and I don’t plan on breaking that promise.”

He doubled down when speaking to reporters after the speech.

In a sea of “we won’t comment on budget items, ahead of budget day,” hints about the upcoming tax cuts have become somewhat of a tranquil island of predictability.

But that sea is becoming choppier by the day.

On the one hand, Finance Minister Nicola Willis has been forthright in her candor about how bleak the situation is.

“...our Government has taken the responsible approach of preparing for a world in which the books could get worse before they get better,” she told the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce last week.

“I need not dwell on the challenges. You understand the reality. I’d simply say this: It is darkest before the dawn.”

She, too, spoke about the Government’s responsibility to provide New Zealanders with tax relief – given the fact it was the centerpiece of National’s election campaign, and a major clause in both the Act and NZ First coalition agreements.

Despite this, pressure continues to mount on the Government to scrap the tax cuts.

“Now is not the time for us to be delivering tax cuts for New Zealanders,” Labour leader Chris Hipkins said on Thursday.

“It is a time for us to be funding public services appropriately.”

The Greens have a similar view – as do most unions.

Economists too.

A survey of members at the Association of Economists showed 83 percent agreed that, given the budget deficit, now is not the time for tax cuts.

This makes perfect sense.

On paper, no. Now is not the time for tax cuts.

The Government’s books are in deficit. The projected tax-take is low and getting lower. The current account deficit is widening. Willis has confirmed the Government will be taking on more debt, at the same time as it cuts taxes.

Meanwhile, inflation remains stubbornly above the Reserve Bank’s target range.

Given the fiscal backdrop, of course 83 percent of economists say now’s not the time.

But New Zealand’s population is not entirely made up of economists.

And the numbers don’t lie.

In April, a Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll found 53 per cent of voters still wanted a tax cut, while 29 per cent did not.

On May 16, another Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll found 74 per cent of respondents supported inflation adjustments – a form of tax cut which is likely to make up the majority of the Government’s tax cut package, come May 30.

And for good reason.

As highly regarded independent economist Cameron Bagrie puts it, indexing tax thresholds is less about providing tax relief, and more about stopping tax thievery.

That is, people who are forced into higher tax brackets as a result of inflation.

Most other countries have automatic threshold adjustments built into their tax system – not us.

Which is why when it happens in a few weeks’ time, it will be big news – despite the fact we know it’s coming.

So Luxon doesn’t have to deliver speeches which will shake those listening to their core and be talked about for years to come.

He doesn’t even need to keep the attention of most of those in the audience while he’s speaking.

All he needs to do is one thing, and one thing alone. Build the hype for the tax cuts and reassure people that rain, shine, recession or deficit – they're coming.