Small boost for those on lower incomes

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

It was not an April Fool’s Day joke; thousands of New Zealanders have been given more disposable income with which to start the new financial year, but owners of electric vehicles won’t remember the day so fondly.

According to Stuff, those on family tax credit will get a maximum $144 (up from $136) a week for the oldest child in a family, and $117 (up from $111) per week for subsequent children; those on the Best Start tax credit for babies in their first year will see a small rise of $4 to $73 a week; a couple on the Jobseeker benefit get $56.48 more a fortnight while single parents get $44.02 more.

The student allowance for those living away from home and aged under 24 will get an extra $27.94, up to a maximum of $314.15 a week after tax.

The biggest single group getting a boost are superannuitants. A couple on NZ Super or the Veteran’s Pension will get $71.08 more a fortnight and a single person living alone will get $46.20 more a fortnight.

This means a couple where both people qualify will receive just under $800 a week after tax.

The extra money will be very welcome in view of the cost of living pressures that people on lower incomes have been experiencing.

While these increases will help those most in need, a huge number of people are waiting to see if Finance Minister Nicola Willis can honour her promise to go ahead with tax cuts even while the country’s finances are worse than previously anticipated.

May’s Budget will be one of the most eagerly awaited for many years.

However, April 1 was not a good day for owners of electric vehicles who will now have to pay road user charges, similar to what is already required for diesel cars and heavy vehicles.

The changes mean EV owners will pay $76 per 1000km driven (the same as diesel vehicles) and plug-in hybrid owners will pay $38 — slightly less than the $42 originally proposed.

The good news is that the transport agency has allowed a two-month grace period, so new owners have time to understand the system.

Drive Electric Vehicles chair Kirsten Corson is predicting there will not be a stampede to start paying the charges, with most EV drivers making the most of the amnesty period.

But she pointed out that while EV drivers were not opposed to paying charges, the new scheme meant that electric vehicles were being charged 23 percent more than petrol vehicles, despite the fact they had zero emissions.

Some people will point out that the decision seems to go strongly against the government policy of trying to transition to electric vehicles. It is the first disincentive for EV drivers, but how much of an impact will it have?