‘Cruel’ not to help first-home buyers

Inflation might be at historic lows, but

One of the biggest cost increases has been in housing.

While a single parent with two children has a median income of $42,000, according to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), that drops to $26,700 after housing costs.

A two-parent, two-child household loses a median $18,800 a year in housing costs.

Bagrie said about 40 per cent of new borrowers were taking out home loans that were more than five times their annual incomes.

The Reserve Bank says that across all households, borrowers have loans that People in every income bracket report

About 40 per cent of New Zealand households receive more in transfers from the Government than they pay in tax.

You are more likely to end up in this group if you have children and are receiving Working for Families transfers.

Single-earner families with two children can earn up to $60,000 a year before they pay any net tax.

About half of households with children receive more in welfare benefits and tax credits than they pay in income tax.

The same applies for retirees – the vast majority are in households where the income tax they pay is less than the superannuation they receive.

Government transfers can apply even to those on relatively high incomes – the top three income deciles receive 17 per cent of all transfers.

People without kids, though, might have more cause to complain. Working households without dependent kids pay more in tax than they receive in benefits and support, whatever their income.

This calculation does not include GST. Lower-income households tend to spend more of their income, on which GST is then applied, but higher earners spend more overall. Susan Edmunds