Today’s child poverty figures, revealing
that nearly 150,000 children are living in material hardship
in New Zealand, show the need for tax relief says the
Taxpayers’ Union.
Responding to the
figures, Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “It
is disturbing that the current tax burden on low income
families means that even kids with parents in full time work
are experiencing poverty. That is shameful.”
“Many
measures being introduced by this government such as higher
fuel taxes, higher taxes on cigarettes, higher waste levies
on garbage, and hiked rates bills across the country, have a
disproportionate effect on the poor.”
“You can’t
kneecap family budget with new and higher taxes, and expect
poverty figures to improve. Tax relief is needed, and for
tens of thousands of families, needed right
now.”
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