United Future

Posted at 2008-03-08 12:39:29.151. Permalink.

I am a bit vague on the details but it seems to me this is a measure for middle income NZ. Im in that category and we are always overlooked as the stable ones who keep the country glued together. I for one think it would be peachey to have the government support our choices on whether we work/stay/play with our kids.

Posted at 2008-03-29 11:38:33.655. Permalink.

It's great to see some creative thinking around how we can help people help themselves, instead of just tax cuts.

Posted at 2008-04-23 21:13:23.892. Permalink.

Income splitting for taxation purposes for those with kids has to be the finest concept to put valuable money back in to the hands of hard working parents in such a way dependency is not fostered. Real effort by parents is being rewarded by this approach!

Posted at 2008-04-23 21:24:16.752. Permalink.

great idea i wish this had been around when my kids were small

Posted at 2008-04-24 23:03:24.926. Permalink.

Income splitting enables parents to invest in parenting their own children. It gives recogntion to this work and creates visibility for the at-home parent who becomes a tax payer in their own right, and removes the anomoly where parents who own their own businesses currently split income, whereas parents whose income is from wages and salary cannot. It is high time we corrected the imbalances in current policy.

Posted at 2008-04-26 23:45:52.793. Permalink.

I heard on talk-back radio a while back that some overseas professor had quantifiably estimated the worth of a stay-home parent who is raising 2+ preschoolers. I seem to recall that their equivalent salary compared to the marketplace should be around $250K. When you factor in no sick leave, no paid annual leave, no bonuses (not counting those first steps, etc. of course!) and all the other corporate trimmings, then parents at home are way undervalued!

For me, it's not just about the money though; it's very much about the principle of recognition. One partner may not earn the bulk of their household income, but if they are choosing to stay at home and raise kids(and lets face it, that requires some serious sacrifice these days), then we should recognize them through the eyes of our law in some way. Income Splitting is a great start.

Posted at 2008-04-27 11:44:05.044. Permalink.

Awesome Idea

Congratulations Peter Dunne / United Future.

To be honest I was never a supporter of tax cuts as New Zealand is "poor" enough as it is (I'm not saying we don't earn enough as a nation, currently it is just spent wrong to justify earning less) also I am in a tax bracket that would not see great results for my family.

However this idea of income splitting has struck a chord with me. Compounded even more by the fact that the current tax structure feels like a punishment for working hard, striving, to be successful, being independent from the state and raising a good loving family.

I.e. I'm 20 years old and my base wage (not salary) for this financial year will be $70,000 plus overtime and on call allowances (around $2000 before tax a month). My partner and I also have our first child on the way. Which she plans to stay at home and raise. With more planned it will be a long time before she is back into "paid" full time work.

Now nether of us were born into riches, we have worked hard to get this far, we don't drink, smoke, hoon around in fast cars, go out partying all weekend, receive any benefits, we obey the laws, our healthcare is private and were not going to move to Aussie.

Thank you we hear the Govt. say. Thank you, thank you so much, we shall take 40c for every dollar you earn by the end of the financial year now as a sign of our appreciation.

Bravo Peter Dunne hopefully you can recognize "that the mum or dad who is at home is making a very, very significant contribution" and that you are able "give something back to middle- and higher- income earners who might be earning too much to qualify for other financial support programmes such as Working for Families".

I will be looking into United Futures other policies and considering were your party stands come election time.

Posted at 2008-04-29 20:03:49.115. Permalink.

Incone splitting does seem a good idea- but is it fair that the worth of a non-earning partner is measured against their partners income? A former cleaner whose partner is earning 60k will get 500% more tax relief than a stay at home accountant who whose partner earns 36,000, thus widening the gap between richer and poorer families.

Posted at 2008-05-01 20:17:47.145. Permalink.

Fairness is important Dave, I agree. But consider this. Anyone in a business can split the income with their spouse (just by having them as a business partner) - isn't it fair that everyone have the same advantage?

Also - this is not a policy aimed at the lowest earners in society... I don't think there is any moral obligation that ALL tax changes benefit that group only. In fact, over the last decade or so policies have only seemed to help that group (eg working with families). During that time the middle income earners have been paying proportionally more tax (bracket creep) and have lost the choice they once had to have one of them home for the kids - at least after school. I think a policy that empowers people to make choices is a fair one.

Posted at 2008-05-12 14:00:50.243. Permalink.

I made the point to a post on another topic that income splitting is not our sole tax policy. It is one of a series of policies, the remainder of which will be rolled out over the next few weeks and do address many of the issues not dealt with by income splitting.

Posted at 2008-05-28 09:13:01.895. Permalink.

There have been multiple articles that are positive about income splitting in the media (John Roughan, NZ Herald) and recently Alex Penk in NBR. As long as enough people respond to the discussion document (go to our latest news page on this site), and back the idea, it will have a positive future indeed. After all, splitting income and not families is what we need.

Posted at 2008-06-07 17:32:52.777. Permalink.

Congratulations - this is a great idea (and the rest of your tax policy is quite good too) but I would really like to see income splitting available for couples without dependent children also.

Posted at 2008-06-09 15:27:29.594. Permalink.

As a full time mother for 6 years I found it unfair that my husband was taxed as a single man yet was supporting a wife and 2 children. No recognition of the cost to us to be parents... in a day when people are not having children because finacially it is hard. The hardest thing I found that as a person with no income I had no financil say. I couldn't make any banking decisions with out my husband say so. yet he could go in and make decisions without my say so. Because banks are economists, legally i had no money he did. Income splitting will empower the stay at home parent and give them money in their own legal right. Couples owning their own business can do it. It seems only fair that PAYE people can too.

Posted at 2008-06-10 12:52:16.604. Permalink.

Income splitting could make such a great difference - as a mum of two children it would be so good to have a real financial choice whether to go back to work or not. Too often work is a necessity, not a choice. About time NZ had policy that acknowledges the role of parents at home.

Posted at 2008-06-16 17:36:34.073. Permalink.

There is no good reason why we can't recognise the work of parents by allowing them to split their incomes for tax purposes. Perhaps the introduction of Income Splitting could be a distinct value add from United Future to the next government?

Posted at 2008-11-01 10:23:03.243. Permalink.

This is the single most important issue to me and why I'm voting United Future. It is absurd New Zealand doesn't already allow income splitting. Instead they effectively penalize families, especially those who chose to have a stay at home parent.

I raise a family with 2 young children and a wife who stays at home doing an exceptional job raising our children and I get get taxed at the same rate as a bachelor. I call this the "FAMILY PENALTY".

Why this issue doesn't get more priority is mind-boggling to me.

Posted at 2009-08-22 15:54:03.16. Permalink.

Income splitting is needed now more than ever. Time invested with kids early on has been shown to be hugely beneficial. Parents are best placed to look after their children. Well done United Future.