Foster child rebate refused

Press, 18 December 1985, Page 33

Foster child rebate refused

PA Auckland A taxpayer has lost a bid to claim a foster child rebate for two South Korean children he supported by post. The children called the man “father” and he regularly wrote to and sometimes visited them. But the Taxation Review Authority says neither of the children qualified him for foster care rebates because they were living with their natural parents and he had no effective control over their upbringing, moral, emotional or social behaviour, or education.

His money helped keep the family together, said the authority, and his occasional visits also gave them a relationship with a real,

concerned and loving person they could regard with affection.

The authority, which did not name the man, also heard that according to South Korean custom and convention, the family’s eldest son took over the role of father figure on the death of the natural father.

It found that while the taxpayer’s support might help the children find a better place in society, he did not bring them up himself.