Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, today revealed the Government’s tax calculator website, which outlines exactly how much tax relief lower and middle income New Zealanders will receive, was visited 240,821 times in the first 18 hours after the Budget was released.
“Hardworking Kiwis, who often work two jobs and juggle family commitments need tax relief to keep their heads above water, and this Budget delivers for them,” said Ms Willis.
“Low and middle income New Zealanders are struggling with higher costs. They have not had tax relief for 14 long years, and now from 31 July the average income household will receive up to $102 a fortnight to deal with cost of living pressures.”
Around 1.9 million households will receive tax relief for the first time since 2010, said the Minister.
“The surge of visitors to our tax calculator shows that Kiwis want to know exactly how the Budget affects them, and how much better off they will be as a result of the savings we have made and the tax relief we are delivering.”
“Unlike some of the other calculators, ours is backed up by the most recent and accurate data from the Treasury, and has been tested over the last few months to ensure that it provides Kiwis with the exact benefit they will receive from the adjustment in tax brackets, increasing the in-work tax credit and the expansion to the independent earner tax credit.
“Our Budget delivers for New Zealanders, and I continue to encourage all Kiwis to use our tax calculator at Budget.govt.nz/taxcalculator to see how much they will benefit by from July 31,” she said.