can't get enough

.. Family assistance, that is.

Thanks to Kiwiblog I have noticed the latest key tax facts for taxpayers.

If you are on $100,000 and have four kids, you are entitled to the In Work Payment,(IWP) which is a $60.00 weekly payment designed to provide a gap between welfare and work. It is there to ensure families where a parent is in paid work are always better off than those who are dependant on a benefit. Meaning if you are on a benefit and have kids you are automatically $60.00 a week worse off, which is why Child Poverty Action group are initiating court action against the Government over the IWP.

Of course one wonders why a person on $100,000 needs a financial incentive from the Government to provide a gap between welfare and work.

The IWP is abated after about $69,000 for those with just one child. Interestingly enough, you can get an abated IWP even if you are not entitled to Family Assistance if your income is higher than the cut-of point.

So I asked the IRD why high income families with kids can get the IWP when they dont even qualify for Family Assistance. Their answer "becuse the Government has decided that these families need this extra assistance to bring up their kids.

What I also object to is a family on $60,000 with four kids getting more in WFF than a family on $30,000 with two kids.

How many of you with kids who do not qualify for Family Support have applied for the In Work Payment? If you have two kids and earn $66,000- $80,000, you won't get Family Support, but you will get the In Work Payment.