Labour Plan For Rates

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31923, 26 February 1969, Page 30

Labour Plan For Rates

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, February 25. A Labour Government would introduce legislation to allow for a rebate of rates for owner-occupiers of private dwellings whose income was not beyond specified limits, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Kirk) said in a statement today.

Every ratepayer would meet the first $3O of his rates plus one-third of the remaining sum. The other two-thirds would be met by the Government, subject to the following qualifications:—

To earn the full rebate, the ratepayer’s income must not exceed $936 for a single person, or $1248 including the wife’s income—plus $156 for each dependent child in the case of a married couple. Where the ratepayers’ income was higher than those limits, the full rebate would be reduced 25c for every $2 of annual income above the limit. Mr Kirk said the rebate would not stop immediately but would taper off. The ratepayer would have the option of declaring his income to his local authority or claiming his rebate from the Inland Revenue Department after he had paid the full rates. Not Commercial The rebate would apply only to owner-occupier homes not used for commercial purposes.

“As a second and later step, Labour will allow a proportion of rates paid on owner-occupier dwellings to be a deductible item for income tax purposes,” Mr Kirk said.

The introduction of a stamp system of pre-payment for the convenience of both local authorities and ratepayers would be investigated.