Lower Taxes Will Ease Student Debt Burden

Monday 28 Jan 2002 Richard Prebble Press Releases -- Tertiary Education

Few university students will support Jim Anderton's proposal that, in return for three years free tertiary education, they should give the government half their income for life, ACT leader Richard Prebble says.

"The trouble with the student loan scheme is that it's badly designed. The government's offer of free interest while studying has encouraged students to double their debt. It's easy to get a loan but the difficulty is in repaying it after graduation.

"The answer is not to increase taxes, as Mr Anderton suggests, but to lower taxes. In fact, Mr Anderton's proposal to raise taxes will make it even more difficult for young people who've already left university to repay their debt," Mr Prebble said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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