From the press room
Huge backing for income splitting – 2008-08-28
UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne expressed great satisfaction today with the results of the public response to a government discussion document on income splitting for tax purposes by parents with dependent children.
The discussion document, the result of the confidence and supply agreement between UnitedFuture and the Labour-led government, was released by Mr Dunne as Minister of Revenue on April 27 this year.
Inland Revenue has subsequently received 205 submissions on the document, 90% of which supported the proposal and only 7% opposed it.
Seventy percent of submitters said income splitting should be optional and income should be split on a 50/50 basis.
“UnitedFuture has long championed income splitting as an option for families who want to be able to have one parent stay at home and carry out the vital duties of raising children and strengthening families.
“This level and tone of response shows that New Zealanders also support income splitting.
“The message is clear – New Zealanders who want income splitting need to give their party votes to UnitedFuture to ensure we are in a position to put the further development of an income splitting proposal on the table for consideration during post-election government-formation talks,” said Mr Dunne.