Collins Comments 14 June 2004

Judith Collins MP for Clevedon 14 June 2004

Budget Blunder Labour's big spending will force many working families onto state dependence. Just how bad this 2004 budget is for New Zealand has recently been shown by National revealing the following take-home figures for 2007

1.. For a one income, two parent family with two young children living in south or west Auckland or Wellington City

Gross income
$38,000
$60,000

Income tax
-$7,410
-$14,670

ACC levy
-$456
-$720

Family assistance
+$7,198
+$598

Accommodation supplement
+$5,528
+$28

Net income
$42,860
$45,236

Difference

+$2,376

2.. For a one income, two parent family with three young children living in central Auckland

Gross income
$38,000
$70,000

Income tax
-$7,410
-$18,570

ACC levy
-$456
-$840

Family assistance
+$10,162
+$562

Accommodation supplement
+$8,648
+$648

Net income
$48,944
$51,800

Difference

+$2,856

This means that after the budget has lifted the after-tax income of some families earning $38,000 to a gross of between $42,000 and $48,000 almost the same as the after-tax income of families earning between $60,000 and $70,000.

The awful thing is that behaviour will shift. Where is the incentive for someone to take a higher paying, more stressful job, if they are going to lose any increased income in tax while they could simply sit back in a less stressful job and get paid sufficient Family assistance and accommodation supplement paid for by the person earning a gross of $70,000.

Labour's response to these figures has been "so what?".

Labour is overtaxing middle income New Zealand and then giving back through the welfare system. It is turning self-sufficient people into beneficiaries. The official unemployment figures are promising. The problem is when we look at the invalid and sickness beneficiary numbers we realize that they have increased by almost the same amount by which the unemployment benefit has decreased. What this indicates is that benefit switching is occurring. We still have more than 330,000 adults of working age on benefits. This budget will do nothing to stop that from rising.

Have your say on the foreshore issues Great news! Now everyone has a chance to have their say on the foreshore and sea bed issue. It is now possible to make online submissions to the select committee direct from the National Party website. All you have to do is go to www.national.org.nz/foreshoresubmission.aspx or go through www.foreshore.co.nz.

I wonder how many of you watched TV One's programme on race relations with Anita McNaught. As I told my husband, the best thing about it was that I really looked forward to the advertisements. Some of the statements made as fact were outrageous. I have no idea why TV One felt it was necessary to bring back to New Zealand a woman who left these shores seven years ago and has never been back since. It was sanctimonious claptrap and a waste of taxpayers' money.

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