Axed earner credit not as unpopular as we were told

One of the stand-out casualties of the 2017 Budget was the independent earner tax credit - a payment worth up to $10 a week for low-income earners with no dependents. The Budget implied it would not be missed because it was rarely taken up, noting it is ‘‘only claimed by about one third of eligible recipients during the tax year’’. But the devil is in those final four words. Actually, 60 per cent claim it after the end of the tax year so, as Finance Minister Steven Joyce admits, 80 per cent eventually get it.