Dunne: politicians must listen to families on Income Sharing

In welcoming the passage of the Taxation (Income-sharing Tax Credit) Bill through its First Reading this evening, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said 90 percent of submissions on an earlier discussion document had favoured Income Sharing.

He said he constantly received "very positive feedback from everyday New Zealand families about Income Sharing" and it had been strongly backed by the public in the consultation process under the previous Labour government.

New Zealanders naturally reacted to hip-pocket realities and would not be talked down to by politicians, Mr Dunne said.

"New Zealand families know that Income Sharing is good for them, and no amount of political double-speak from politicians who might oppose it will stop them from recognising when something actually benefits them," Mr Dunne said.

"The reality is simple: up to 310,000 New Zealand families stand to benefit by anything up to $9.000 a year and have the choice of spending more time raising their children.

"And the key word here is 'choice'.

"Those who would oppose this Bill are in effect saying they wish to deny New Zealand families a very helpful choice in the way they wish to raise their families," Mr Dunne, the Leader of UnitedFuture, said.

Income Sharing is a key part of UnitedFuture's tax policy and formed part of its Confidence and Supply agreement with the National-led Government.

He acknowledged Labour's previous support of Income Sharing, when it was "constructive and helpful, and appeared to operate on a good faith basis" through the initial consultation period when it was in power.

"All of which makes the Labour Party's current opposition to this legislation that much harder to understand."

Mr Dunne was particularly dismissive of Labour Party and Greens criticism that Income Sharing discriminated against sole parents.

"No single action benefit fits everyone's circumstances.

"The vast majority of single parents do a fantastic job bringing up their children, and to reflect this there are support structures in place for them - childcare subsidies, the minimum family tax credit, the childcare rebate and the domestic purposes benefit.

"Income Sharing by definition requires two parents, and it is timely to support the two-parent family, of which there are about 310,000 raising children in New Zealand today," he said.

Mr Dunne thanked the National and Maori parties for their support of the Bill, and said he looked forward to "middle New Zealand families putting their views strongly on what they think is good for them during the Select Committee process".

ENDS

© Scoop Media