United Future welcomes family support increases

United Future finance spokesperson Gordon Copeland today expressed his delight with the increases to family support, child's tax credit and parental tax credit income thresholds included in the Taxation Bill, now introduced into Parliament.

"The indexation of this support for New Zealand families by the movement in the Consumer Price Index is something which United Future specifically sought in its pre-Budget negotiations with the Government.

"We hope that the Government will continue down this track and are heartened by their undertaking to consider making CPI indexation an ongoing feature of the family assistance legislation.

"This is a small beginning but it is at least a beginning and it is undoubtedly fair to say that it would not be happening now but for the supply and confidence agreement United Future entered into with the Government."

The threshold increases will apply from 1 April 2004 based on the estimated movement in the CPI index to September 2003. The increases will mean that low and middle income families with children and income above $20,000 will receive more family assistance.

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