Wednesday, 12 May 2004
Dunne goes to bat for struggling NZ families
United Future leader Peter Dunne today laid out a comprehensive programme to ease the financial burden on the average
working New Zealand family.
He told Parliament that families on a income between about $50,000 and $80,000 – “not a high level of income” – with one
child had many transfer payments, such as child tax credits, family support and parental tax credits, cutting out when
the family income rose above $33,000.
If that income was the sole income of one partner and above $60,000, rather than the combined income of the couple, it
would be taxed at the top rate of 39%, even though it is just the average household income.
And many such families, he said, would also be servicing student loans, which would cost about $3500 annually.
Mr Dunne said United Future was promoting the idea of splitting the family income for tax purposes, which would leave
the average family around $3000 a year better off.
He said such a system would also do away with the complexities of transfer payments and other forms of family
assistance.
And if the average family was supporting a tertiary students, then when the parental income exceeded $28,000 a year,
every student under the age of 25 would have their students allowance abated.
“That’s absurd and must be changed,” Mr Dunne said.
He called for a bonding arrangement that would see graduates working in New Zealand while their student debt was
reducing.
Mr Dunne said these struggling middle income families’ biggest investment was in their homes, and that their property
rates could be cut by almost 12.5% by removing GST from rates.
Ends