6. RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister for Social Development and Employment
By how much are Working for Families tax credits increasing on 1 April 2007?
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister for Social Development and Employment) Link to this
I am pleased to advise the House that the Working for Families tax credits will increase by $10 per week per child on 1 April. For a Kaitāia family like Josephine and William and their four children between the ages of 12 and 3 years, who are currently receiving $263 per week in family tax credits, it means they will be another $40 a week better off, receiving in total $303 in targeted tax relief. Under National’s policy—which the electorate rejected, of course, at the last election—the same family would not have been $303 better off; it would have been $293 worse off.
Russell Fairbrother Link to this
How many families are receiving this increase in Working for Families tax credits?
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE Link to this
A total of 360,000 families will be entitled to Working for Families tax credits—that is, three out of every four families with children will be receiving tax relief—amounting to $1.6 billion annually. The latest $10 per child per week increase applies to all eligible families, whether they are in work or reliant on a benefit.
Russell Fairbrother Link to this
What will be the effect on household income of this increase in Working for Families tax credits?
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE Link to this
The latest increase is expected to move an additional 70,000 children out of poverty. With the full implementation of the Working for Families package on 1 April, New Zealand will move from its current ranking of 18th out of 24 countries in terms of the number of households in poverty, into the top half of OECD countries. It will most likely move into the top five, alongside Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Kia ora, Madam Speaker. Kia ora tātou. What is the rationale for denying New Zealanders who require income support, but who are not in employment, the opportunity to be supported in meeting their financial responsibilities as families?
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE Link to this
Working for Families has already made beneficiaries better off by around $31 a week, and from 1 April 2007 family tax credit rates will increase—as I have just said—by a further $10 per week per child. This significant investment in the well-being of all New Zealanders will, clearly, ensure that families with children that earn less than $35,000 a year effectively pay no tax, at all.